"IBM's $11 billion all-cash acquisition of Confluent ( NASDAQ:CFLT) triggered a surge in retail trader activity, particularly on r/wallstreetbets where the announcement generated 265 upvotes and 58 comments. The deal, offering $31 per share (a 34% premium), positions IBM to dominate real-time data streaming for AI applications. CEO Arvind Krishna stated that "IBM and Confluent together will enable enterprises to deploy generative and agentic AI better and faster.""
"Retail traders back IBM's measured approach to AI. Three factors drive the bullish sentiment: IBM's AI book of business hit $9.5 billion in Q3, with infrastructure revenue surging 17% year over year The Confluent deal adds to a proven M&A track record, following the $34 billion Red Hat acquisition that transformed IBM's cloud business Krishna's public skepticism of trillion-dollar AI data center spending resonates with value-focused investors who prefer targeted, profitable investments"
Retail traders on Reddit are driving bullish sentiment for ASML and IBM, believing both companies will benefit from growing AI infrastructure demand without the speculative overspending seen at some mega-cap tech peers. ASML shares rose to $1,111.60 on Dec. 9, up 58% year-to-date, while IBM reached $312.67 on Dec. 10, recovering 49% from its 52-week low. IBM announced an $11 billion all-cash acquisition of Confluent at $31 per share, expected to strengthen real-time data streaming for AI, and IBM's AI revenue hit $9.5 billion in Q3 with infrastructure revenue up 17% year over year.
Read at 24/7 Wall St.
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]