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International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) was founded more than a century ago, in 1911, as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (C-T-R). But the computer giant traces its roots back to the1880s. During that decade, Dr. Alexander Dey invented the first dial recorder for his business, while a second enterprise, Bundy Manufacturing, became the first time recording company. Both companies became key building blocks of C-T-R.
More recently, IBM has become a global information technology company focused on software, cloud computing, and consulting services. IBM primarily generates revenue today through its five segments: Cloud & Cognitive Software; Global Business Services; Global Technology Services; Systems; and Global Financing.
The top shareholders of IBM are James Whitehurst, Arvind Krishna, James Kavanaugh, Vanguard Group Inc., BlackRock Inc., and State Street Corp.
As of January 5, 2021, IBM had trailing 12-month (TTM) revenue of $75.0 billion and TTM net income of $7.9 billion, with a market capitalization of $111.4 billion.
Below, we take a closer look at the top shareholders of IBM.
“Insider” refers to people in senior management positions and members of the board of directors, as well as people or entities that own more than 10% of the company’s stock. In this context, it has nothing to do with insider trading.
Top 3 Individual Insider Shareholders
James M. Whitehurst
James M. Whitehurst owns 148,606 shares of IBM, representing 0.02% of all outstanding shares. Whitehurst has been president of IBM since 2020. In this role, he is responsible for IBM Cloud and Cognitive Software organization and Corporate Strategy. Prior to IBM, Whitehurst was president and CEO of Red Hat, the open source enterprise software company, and earlier in his career was chief operating officer of Delta Airlines. Whitehurst played a key role in driving IBM’s high-profile, $34-billion acquisition of open-source software company Red Hat, the largest such purchase in the company’s history.
Arvind Krishna
Arvind Krishna owns 86,188 shares of IBM, representing 0.01% of all outstanding company shares. Krishna became CEO of IBM in April of 2020 after serving as senior vice president of Cloud and Cognitive Software, IBM’s fastest growing business. He joined IBM in 1990 as a member of the company’s Watson Research division, then becoming general manager of IBM Systems and Technology Group’s development and manufacturing organization. Krishna has been a key driver of IBM’s push into cloud computing in recent years, and as head of IBM Research, he has guided the company through developments into blockchain, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing technologies. Krishna was a major architect of IBM’s acquisition of Red Hat.
James J. Kavanaugh
James J. Kavanaugh owns 77,541 shares of IBM, representing 0.01% of all outstanding company shares. Since 2018, Kavanaugh has been senior vice president and chief financial officer of IBM, overseeing the company’s global financial operations. In these roles he also leads the company’s Global Financing business. Kavanaugh joined IBM in 1996 and has held a variety of financial leadership roles for the company, including vice president of finance for the Americas Group and IBM EMEA. From 2008 to 2015, he was IBM’s controller and from 2015 to 2018, he was senior vice president, Transformation & Operations. In his current role he continues to oversee Transformation & Operations, leading the company in aligning its operating model with fundamental industry shifts. Prior to IBM, Kavanaugh was chief financial officer for the Americas Global Services unit at AT&T Corp.
Top 3 Institutional Shareholders
Institutional investors hold the majority of IBM shares at about 51.9% of total shares outstanding.
Vanguard Group Inc.
Vanguard Group owns 74.2 million shares of IBM, representing 8.3% of total shares outstanding, according to the company’s 13F filing for the period ending September 30, 2020. The company is primarily a mutual fund and ETF management company with about $6.2 trillion in global AUM. The Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT), which tracks a market-cap-weighted index of IT companies, owns IBM. The company represents about 1.1% of the fund’s portfolio.
BlackRock Inc.
BlackRock owns 60.9 million shares of IBM, representing 6.8% of total shares outstanding, according to the company’s 13F filing as of September 30, 2020. The company is primarily a mutual fund and ETF management company with approximately $7.8 trillion in AUM. The iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF (VLUE), which invests in undervalued large- and mid-cap companies, owns IBM. IBM is the fourth-largest holding at 3.2% of the fund’s portfolio.
State Street Corp.
State Street owns 53.0 million shares of IBM, representing 5.9% of total shares outstanding, according to the company’s 13F filing as of September 30, 2020. State Street manages mutual funds, ETFs and other investments with $3.1 trillion in AUM. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA), which tracks a price-weighted index of 30 large-cap U.S. stocks, holds IBM. IBM represents 2.7% of the fund’s holdings.
