International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) is included among the 13 Top Tech Stocks Paying Consistent Dividends.
IBM has been working on AI for decades. That long game is starting to show up in the stock. Shares are up nearly 38% so far this year.
To keep pushing its AI strategy, International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) has leaned into acquisitions. One of the next deals on the list is Cognitus. At first glance, it doesn’t scream AI. Cognitus focuses on enterprise resource planning, mainly within the SAP ecosystem. However, as more companies bring AI into everyday operations, tying those tools into ERP systems matters. Cognitus helps make that connection, and that fits neatly into IBM’s broader plan.
The numbers also back it up. In the third quarter, IBM’s software segment, which includes its AI products, posted revenue of $7.2 billion, up 10% from a year earlier.
That said, Cognitus alone won’t reshape International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)’s AI business overnight. It works more as a supporting piece. The bigger lift comes from IBM’s pending acquisition of Confluent, announced on December 8. Confluent strengthens IBM’s real-time data capabilities, and that caught Wall Street’s attention. Wedbush called the deal a “strong move.” That makes sense as AI runs on massive amounts of data, pulled from many different systems. Cleaning it up and moving it in real time is often the hard part. Confluent helps solve that problem, and it makes IBM’s overall tech stack more cohesive.
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) has also been building through partnerships. The company recently teamed up with AI startup Anthropic. Under the agreement, IBM will integrate Anthropic’s AI models into its software, giving customers more tools to work with as AI use continues to spread.
While we acknowledge the potential of IBM as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
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Disclosure: None.
