Large companies allocate some percentage of their budget to "modernization" or "IT improvements" IBM tries to grab as much of that budget as possible and then to spend a little money as possible internally delivering results. So they end up selling "Watson AI" or implement a "24/7 Cyber Security Operation Center". They don't give a shit how useful or long term successful those products or services are. They only care about how big the contract is and how high their margins are on the contracts.
IBM stock is performing terribly compared to other technology companies from 15 years ago GOOG,AMZN,APPL.
They deliver a good story to other inefficient companies. Those companies can tell their board that the "new Watson AI will optimize their operations in Q4"
IBM's stock is down 30% since 2013 and is only up 10% from its post-dotcom crash 2000 number. They pay decent dividends so it's been an okay place to park some money, but it's the opposite of soaring.
There is a ton of inefficiencies in big businesses and governments and IBM and other service companies are preying on that. It's a viable business model, if a little scummy.
