New York, February 13, 2026, 17:35 EST — After-hours
- IBM clawed back 1.1% on Friday, recovering slightly after Thursday’s sharp tumble.
- Confluent shareholders have signed off on the merger agreement for IBM’s planned acquisition.
- U.S. stock markets will remain closed on Monday for Presidents’ Day, with trading set to resume Tuesday.
IBM climbed 1.10% to finish Friday at $262.38, breaking a four-day slide. Shares outpaced other tech heavyweights: Microsoft slipped, Alphabet dropped nearly 1%. IBM, though, is still trading about 19% off its 52-week peak, according to MarketWatch data. 1
After Thursday’s tech-heavy drop, traders are on edge, questioning the impact of “AI disruption” on software and IT budgets, and speculating over the timing of rate cuts. The Nasdaq slid more than 2% that day, with investors pulling back before key U.S. inflation numbers, according to a Reuters market wrap. 2
The pipeline for IBM deals is drawing attention again. According to an SEC filing, Confluent reported that shareholders gave the green light to the merger agreement in a Feb. 12 special meeting—687,954,937 votes for it. With U.S. equity markets set to close Monday for Presidents’ Day, per the NYSE calendar, trading won’t resume until Tuesday.
IBM shares moved to $262.38 in after-hours trading, following a session that saw prices ranging from $256.88 to $264.62. Volume hit roughly 6.8 million shares on Friday. The stock finished Thursday off 4.87% at $259.52. 3
Back in December, IBM struck a deal to acquire Confluent at $31 a share, all cash. The move, according to IBM, is aimed at bolstering its enterprise generative AI capabilities across its data and software offerings. 4
The shareholder vote? That’s done—an easy box to tick. But investors are still hashing out the bigger issue: what tech deals actually mean for the sector these days. The real hurdles are regulators, unpredictable timelines, and the challenge IBM faces snapping up a nimble software platform and integrating it into a sprawling, slower-moving business. Customer retention hangs in the balance.
IBM, stepping away from the M&A spotlight, revealed a hiring move that stirred up more chatter as markets hash out the AI-versus-jobs debate. The company plans to triple its U.S. entry-level recruitment in 2026—these aren’t just any jobs, Chief Human Resources Officer Nickle LaMoreaux emphasized. “Yes, it’s for all these jobs that we’re being told AI can do,” she told Bloomberg, as cited by Business Standard. 5
This isn’t your typical price driver, yet it’s at the core of what investors are sizing up—does AI actually boost productivity, or just shuffle expenses and risk across the company? IBM’s argument: it can not only sell the tech, but also use it to change how it operates.
The near-term picture looks choppy. Extra steps remain before the Confluent deal can close, and lately, software stocks have been hammered at any hint of execution risk—particularly as rates and inflation expectations keep shifting.
Wall Street takes a pause Monday, but eyes are already on Tuesday, Feb. 17, as investors come back from the holiday and start reassessing deal risk and the broader macro picture. IBM plans to pay out its next quarterly dividend on March 10. 6
