[jeffbee]

I think it made sense on its own terms. They retrenched into the business where they are actually differentiated. It is notable that IBM net margins have been ~15% at best for decades. It's an odd business that is huge and just trucks along without remarkable growth. It is the butt of jokes but also a top 100 company by many measures.

[bigfatkitten]

> It's an odd business that is huge and just trucks along without remarkable growth.

This isn’t odd at all. It’s a feature common to most businesses that have been around 100 years or more.

[jeffbee]

Well, it's odd in that they do this sideways financial performance while also from time to time dropping a state-of-the-art microprocessor, like a real tech giant.

You could also see that it's odd in that most companies from 100 years ago simply don't exist. The perfectly flat trajectory bordering on fade-out is uncommon. The median 100-year-old tech company is Sperry, not IBM.