Arvind Krishna says "tens of large transactions" slipped past June, hurting IBM revenue

After warning investors a week earlier that its results would fall short, IBM reported second-quarter revenue and profit below expectations and cut its full-year sales forecast. The company attributed the shortfall to customers diverting spending from mainframes and software toward artificial-intelligence infrastructure, delaying several major deals. Chief Executive Arvind Krishna said “tens of large transactions” slipped past the end of June, though roughly one-third of that business closed in the early weeks of the third quarter. Infrastructure revenue dropped 7%, with mainframe sales plummeting 42%. IBM’s stock had already tumbled 25% following its preliminary disclosure, and shares fell slightly further after the formal report. The reversal followed an upbeat first quarter in which IBM had beaten estimates.