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$88.29 -5.31 (-5.67%)
10/15/2008 4:02 PM

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)

CAPS Rating:
***

The Company is a globally integrated innovation company, serving the needs of enterprises and institutions worldwide.

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Avatar EV38 (99.52) Submitted: 1/19/07 11:05 AM : Underperform Start Price: $96.95 IBM Score: -27.93

What a surprise! IBM tanks after their earnings which beat estimates. A company this large and this average cannot go up 30%+ in one year. I know 9 people who worked at IBM and 8 of them have left, all of them saying what a bad company it is to work for and how it is filled with morons. That's the Canadian division of operations but I don't doubt its the same elsewhere.

Every other big tech firm dominates an industry and is the first thing you think of when you think of a certain product. Ex. Business Software, Video Games ---> Microsoft Office, XBox, MP3 Players --->AAPL Ipod, computer chips ---> INTC, Search Site --->GOOG, computers --->DELL. IBM is too slow moving to keep up with the competition.

Look at their summary: "An innovation company, serving the needs of enterprises and institutions worldwide. Seeks to deliver clients success by enabling their own capacity to innovate, so that they may differentiate their organizations to create unique competitive advantage."

LOL what the heck does that mean?

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Avatar AssetMangler (90.94) Submitted: 1/28/07 10:22 PM

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Well I certainly like the anecdotal work behind this - 8 out of 9, eh? And a moron rating to boot!

They still have a pretty good brand, and they've insinuated themselves in every nook and cranny around the world. But, long term I think you're right. Standardization is going to eat away at the need for integrators/generalists. I see that already in the networking industry.

Good luck with the call.
AM

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Avatar Persuter (99.65) Submitted: 4/24/07 3:09 PM

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While YOU might not think of IBM, others do. You mention video games, for example -- the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Wii are ALL powered by IBM chips. Their summary means exactly what it says -- they deliver success by doing the interior work, so that their client companies may focus on their competitive advantages. In the video game case in particular, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo can all focus on marketing and software, and leave the hardware up to IBM. Similarly, their Linux-based enterprise software allows businesses to get rid of their IT departments and focus on their business instead of their business software.

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Avatar knowbody (< 20) Submitted: 6/25/08 12:36 AM

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And let's not forget the patent portfolio. You basically can't build a piece of computer hardware without owing IBM a royalty on some aspect of it.

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