# IBM

> American multinational technology corporation

**Wikidata**: [Q37156](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q37156)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/ibm

## Summary
IBM, officially International Business Machines Corporation, is an American multinational technology corporation. Founded in 1911, it is a major global player in the software, computer hardware, and information technology industries, providing a wide range of products and services.

## Key Facts
*   **Inception**: IBM was founded on June 16, 1911.
*   **Headquarters**: The company's headquarters are located in Armonk, United States.
*   **Current CEO**: Arvind Krishna has served as the CEO of IBM since April 2020.
*   **Employees**: As of 2019, IBM had 352,600 employees.
*   **Revenue**: In 2008, IBM reported a revenue of $103.63 billion.
*   **Net Profit**: IBM's net profit reached $14.833 billion in 2010.
*   **Total Assets**: As of 2020, IBM had total assets of $155.971 billion.
*   **Market Capitalization**: IBM's market capitalization was $282.084 billion as of December 2, 2025.
*   **Industries**: IBM operates in the software industry, computer industry, IT service management, information technology consulting, and computer hardware industry.
*   **Stock Exchange**: IBM is primarily listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

## FAQs
### Q: What is IBM?
A: IBM, or International Business Machines Corporation, is an American multinational technology company. It specializes in and offers products and services across the software, computer hardware, and information technology sectors.

### Q: When was IBM founded?
A: IBM was founded on June 16, 1911, initially as the Computing Tabulating Recording Company before being renamed.

### Q: Who is the current CEO of IBM?
A: Arvind Krishna is the current CEO of IBM, having taken the helm in April 2020.

### Q: Where is IBM headquartered?
A: IBM's global headquarters are located in Armonk, New York, United States.

### Q: What industries does IBM operate in?
A: IBM operates across several key industries, including the software industry, computer industry, IT service management, information technology consulting, and computer hardware industry.

## Why It Matters
IBM holds significant importance as a foundational and continually evolving force in the technology landscape. Its century-long history has seen it at the forefront of numerous technological advancements, from tabulating machines to mainframes, personal computers, and now, artificial intelligence and cloud computing. By developing and providing essential hardware, software, and IT services, IBM has played a crucial role in shaping how businesses operate and how technology integrates into daily life. Its extensive research and development efforts, evidenced by its numerous awards for innovation in areas like data storage, semiconductors, and supercomputing, have driven progress across the entire information technology sector. Furthermore, IBM's global presence, numerous subsidiaries, and partnerships underscore its widespread influence, making it a key competitor to other major tech giants in enterprise solutions and emerging technologies. Its contributions have not only propelled technological innovation but also fostered a vast ecosystem of related industries and professional expertise.

## Notable For
*   **Pioneering Innovation**: Recipient of multiple National Medals of Technology and Innovation for contributions to data storage technologies (2000), semiconductor technology (2004), and the Blue Gene supercomputer (2009).
*   **Long-standing Presence**: One of the oldest and largest technology corporations, founded in 1911, with a continuous history of adapting and leading in various tech sectors.
*   **Industry Leadership**: A founding member of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group and a prominent member of other key industry consortia like the Alliance for Open Media and the World Wide Web Consortium.
*   **Global Reach**: Operates numerous subsidiaries and research centers worldwide, including IBM Svenska AB, IBM Israel, and the former IBM La Gaude research centre in France.
*   **Market Influence**: A consistent component of major stock market indices such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and S&P 100.

## Body

### Overview
IBM, officially known as International Business Machines Corporation, is an American multinational technology corporation. It is classified as a software company, business, enterprise, technology company, public company, professional services firm, multinational corporation, and organization. Its primary industries include the software industry, computer industry, IT service management, information technology consulting, and computer hardware industry.

### History and Milestones
IBM was founded on June 16, 1911. It replaced the Computing Tabulating Recording Company and Dehomag. The company's logo has evolved over time, with the current preferred logo in use since 1972. Earlier logos were used from 1947-1956 and 1956-1962.

### Leadership
**CEOs:**
*   Arvind Krishna (preferred, starting April 2020)
*   Ginni Rometty (2012-2020)
*   Samuel J. Palmisano (2002-2011)
*   Louis V. Gerstner (1993-2002)
*   John Fellows Akers (1985-1993)
*   John R. Opel (1981-1985)
*   Frank T. Cary (1973-1981)
*   T. Vincent Learson (1971-1973)
*   Thomas Watson (1956-1971)
*   Thomas John Watson, Sr. (1914-1956)

**Chairpersons:**
*   Arvind Krishna (starting January 1, 2021)
*   Ginni Rometty (starting April 2014)
*   John Fellows Akers (1986-1993)

**Founders:**
*   Charles Ranlett Flint
*   Thomas John Watson, Sr.

**Key People:**
*   Samuel J. Palmisano (American businessman, former CEO)
*   Thomas John Watson, Sr. (USA IBM executive and art collector, founder and former CEO)

**Board Members (as of various dates):**
*   Thomas Buberl (starting April 28, 2020)
*   David Farr (starting 2012)
*   Alex Gorsky (starting 2014)
*   Michelle J. Howard (starting 2019)
*   Arvind Krishna (starting January 1, 2021)
*   Andrew Liveris (starting 2010)
*   F. William McNabb III (starting 2019)
*   Martha Pollack (starting 2019)
*   Joe Swedish (starting 2017)
*   Michael Eskew (2005-2022)

**Affiliated Individuals (Computer Scientists, Mathematicians, etc.):**
*   Benoit Mandelbrot
*   Taffee Tanimoto
*   Edward L. Glaser
*   John D. Bagley
*   William C. Carter
*   Leroy Brown Martin, Jr.
*   H. Raymond Strong
*   Larry Carter
*   Richard Goldberg
*   Sunil Issar
*   Barry M. Trager
*   Harry Printz
*   Maria Rene Ebling
*   Lily Barkovic Mummert
*   Ashish Sabharwal
*   Jean-Louis Lassez
*   Frank André Schaffa
*   Erik R. Altman (American computer scientist at IBM)
*   Sugato Bagchi
*   Cyril S. Ku
*   Markos Zaharioudakis
*   David Scott Gerstl
*   Erik T. Mueller
*   Eugene Hung
*   Angela Demke Brown
*   Vivek Sarkar
*   Ziv Bar-Yossef
*   Dean Hildebrand
*   Ariadna Font Llitjós
*   Alan Nash

### Structure and Operations
IBM's headquarters are located in Armonk, United States. Its legal form is a corporation.

**Organizational Divisions and Subsidiaries:**
*   IBM Research
*   IBM Global Services
*   IBM jStart
*   Watson
*   IBM Svenska AB (main IBM subsidiary in Sweden, inception: 1928-04-02)
*   Telelogic (acquired, inception: 1983)
*   AlchemyAPI (former AI software startup, acquired, inception: 2009)
*   The Weather Company (acquired)
*   IBM Israel (inception: 1972)
*   IBM La Gaude (former IBM research centre in France, inception: 1962)
*   SoftLayer (100% owned)
*   IBM India Private Limited (100% owned)
*   Internet Security Systems
*   Lotus Software
*   Rational Software
*   IBM Denmark (100% owned)
*   IBM France (100% owned)
*   Companhia IBM Portuguesa (100% owned)
*   IBM Nederland (100% owned)
*   IBM Germany (100% owned)

**Owned Assets:**
*   IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center
*   Lotus Software
*   IBM Cloud Video
*   Cognos
*   IBM Somers Office Complex
*   Coded Character Set Identifier
*   IBM Building, Johannesburg
*   IBM Information Management Software
*   IBM Rochester

### Financials
**Employees:**
*   2019: 352,600 (preferred)
*   2018: 350,600
*   2016: 380,000
*   2015: 377,757

**Revenue (in USD):**
*   2008: $103.63 billion
*   2007: $98.786 billion
*   2012: $102.874 billion
*   2013: $98.367 billion
*   2014: $92.793 billion
*   2015: $81.741 billion
*   2016: $79.919 billion
*   2017: $79.139 billion
*   2018: $79.590 billion
*   2021: $57.350 billion

**Net Profit (in USD):**
*   2010: $14.833 billion
*   2007: $10.418 billion
*   2008: $12.334 billion
*   2009: $13.425 billion
*   2012: $16.604 billion
*   2013: $16.483 billion
*   2014: $12.022 billion
*   2015: $13.190 billion
*   2016: $11.872 billion
*   2020: $5.590 billion

**Operating Income (in USD):**
*   2012: $21.902 billion
*   2011: $21.003 billion
*   2010: $19.723 billion
*   2009: $18.138 billion
*   2014: $19.986 billion
*   2013: $19.524 billion
*   2015: $15.944 billion
*   2016: $12.330 billion
*   2017: $11.400 billion
*   2020: $4.637 billion

**Total Assets (in USD):**
*   2020: $155.971 billion (preferred)
*   2018-12-31: $123.380 billion
*   2017-12-31: $125.356 billion
*   2016-12-31: $117.470 billion
*   2015-12-31: $110.495 billion
*   2014-12-31: $117.271 billion
*   2013-12-31: $125.641 billion
*   2012-12-31: $118.965 billion

**Market Capitalization (in USD):**
*   2025-12-02: $282.084 billion (preferred)
*   2025-05-12: $235.779 billion
*   2016-12-31: $157.832 billion
*   2015-12-31: $133.507 billion
*   2017-12-31: $124.003 billion
*   2021-08-24: $125.140 billion
*   2021-04-07: $119.999 billion

**Ownership:**
Major institutional owners include The Vanguard Group (0.0598% as of 2015-09-30), State Street Corporation (0.0508% as of 2015-09-30), and Berkshire Hathaway (0.0845% as of 2015-09-30).

### Industry and Competition
IBM operates in the software, computer, IT service management, information technology consulting, and computer hardware industries.

**Competitors:**
*   SAP (confidence: 0.95, direct competitors in enterprise software and cloud services)
*   Hewlett-Packard (confidence: 0.95, direct competitors in enterprise IT hardware and services)
*   Google (confidence: 0.95, direct competitors in cloud computing and enterprise software)
*   Alphabet Inc. (confidence: 0.95, direct competitors in enterprise cloud computing and artificial intelligence)
*   Accenture (confidence: 0.95, direct competitors in IT consulting and enterprise services)
*   Hewlett Packard Enterprise (confidence: 0.95, direct competitors in enterprise IT infrastructure and cloud services)
*   Mistral AI (confidence: 0.85, direct competitors in the enterprise AI and cloud services market)
*   NEC (confidence: 0.85, direct competitors in enterprise IT infrastructure and systems integration)
*   BlackBerry (confidence: 0.85, direct competitors in enterprise software and cybersecurity)
*   Salesforce (confidence: 0.85, direct competitors in enterprise cloud software and IT services)
*   xAI (confidence: 0.85, indirect competitors in the enterprise AI and cloud services market)

### Affiliations and Partnerships
IBM is a member of various organizations, including:
*   Alliance for Open Media
*   iRODS Consortium
*   Linux Foundation
*   European Committee for Interoperable Systems
*   OpenAPI Initiative
*   World Wide Web Consortium
*   Bluetooth Special Interest Group (founder member)
*   CVE Numbering Authority
*   jQuery Foundation
*   JS Foundation

IBM has a partnership with Beecker. It is also affiliated with IBM and unions.

### Awards and Recognition
IBM has received several notable awards:
*   **National Medal of Technology and Innovation (2000)**: For being the world's leader in basic data storage technologies.
*   **National Medal of Technology and Innovation (2004)**: For four decades of innovation in semiconductor technology enabling growth in IT and consumer electronics.
*   **National Medal of Technology and Innovation (2009)**: For the IBM Blue Gene supercomputer and its impact on high-performance computing.
*   **Silver Anvil Award (2010)**: For "IBM: SMARTER BRANDING FOR A SMARTER PLANET" (Advertising - Branding).
*   **Silver Anvil Award (2012)**: For "IBM at 100: A Proud Past, Relevant Present And Inspirational Future" (Internal Communications / Advertising - Branding / Global Communications).
*   **Silver Anvil Award (2012)**: For "IBM'S Watson Takes On "Jeopardy!" - Days That Changed the Face of Computing" (Special Events - Observances).
*   **Silver Anvil Award (2012)**: For "IBM at 100: Modernizing the Way the World Sees Big Blue" (Integrated Communications / Internal Communications / Social Responsibility / Global Communications / Special Events - Observances).

### Online Presence
IBM maintains an official website at https://www.ibm.com/. It has a presence on various social media platforms, including Twitter (@IBM, @IBMNews, @IBMSecurity, etc.), Facebook (IBM), Instagram (ibm), LinkedIn (ibm), YouTube (UC8cc4pVKVHG7A9fbNsRNrLQ), and Reddit (IBM).

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## References

1. Museum of Modern Art online collection
2. [Source](https://www.lobbyfacts.eu/datacard/ibm-corporation?rid=7721359944-96)
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6. [Source](https://apps.prsa.org/Awards/SilverAnvil/Search?sakeyword=6BW-1203A14)
7. [Source](https://apps.prsa.org/Awards/SilverAnvil/Search?sakeyword=6BW-1216C06)
8. [Ginni Rometty leaves complex legacy as she steps away as IBM CEO. TechCrunch. 2020](https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/01/ginni-rometty-leaves-complex-legacy-as-she-steps-away-as-ibm-ceo/)
9. Who's Who
10. Virtual International Authority File
11. Library of Congress
12. CiNii Research
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14. [Source](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/51143/000104746917001061/a2230222zex-21.htm)
15. [The IBM Ottawa Software Lab](http://www-03.ibm.com/software/ca/en/ottawalab/roots.html)
16. [Source](https://www.redhat.com/en/about/press-releases/ibm-closes-landmark-acquisition-red-hat-34-billion-defines-open-hybrid-cloud-future)
17. [Source](https://www.cnbc.com/dow-30/)
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19. [Source](https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239723/ishares-sp-100-etf)
20. MusicBrainz
21. [Source](https://irods.org/about/)
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27. [Source](https://cve.mitre.org/cve/request_id.html#cna_participants)
28. [Source](https://jquery.org/members/)
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30. [Source](https://foundation.nodejs.org/about/members)
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32. [Source](https://fidoalliance.org/members/)
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36. [Samsung ramps up foundry business as manufacturer of IBM’s 7nm CPU. 2020](http://www.koreaninvestors.com/?p=10504)
37. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
38. Integrated Authority File
39. [Source](https://www.ibm.com/)
40. [Source](https://www.ibm.com/annualreport/assets/downloads/IBM_Annual_Report_2018.pdf#page=68)
41. [Source](https://www.ibm.com/annualreport/assets/downloads/IBM_Annual_Report_2019.pdf#page=65)
42. [Source](http://www.linux-usb.org/usb.ids)
43. [Source](http://api.crossref.org/members/3082)
44. [Source](http://km.aifb.kit.edu/services/crunchbase/)
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46. [Source](https://www.ibm.com/annualreport/2017/assets/downloads/IBM_Annual_Report_2017.pdf)
47. [Source](https://www.ibm.com/annualreport/assets/downloads/IBM_Annual_Report_2018.pdf)
48. [Source](https://www.ibm.com/investor/att/pdf/IBM-4Q21-Earnings-Press-Release.pdf)
49. [Form 10-K. 2010](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000051143/000104746910001151/a2195966z10-k.htm)
50. [Form 10-K. 2011](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000051143/000104746911001117/a2201254z10-k.htm)