IBM reports a sharp setback as its sales fall short of expectations, triggering a steep decline in its stock price. Multiple outlets describe the move as IBM’s largest plunge in at least several decades, with one report citing the biggest drop since 1968. The company attributes the missed sales to operational and demand pressures, including customers changing how they allocate spending. Specifically, coverage says some customers are shifting spending toward chips and servers, rather than IBM’s broader hardware offerings, in the context of AI-related supply constraints. This causes IBM’s hardware performance to lag while demand for other components remains elevated. The reported shortfall also raises concerns about how smoothly IBM can execute its longer-term plan to pivot toward higher-growth software and services, since the hardware segment’s weakness can affect overall momentum and near-term results. Across the accounts, the central points are IBM’s sales miss, the unusually large market reaction, and the linkage drawn between the miss and shifting customer priorities tied to the ongoing AI boom and related shortages.