My goal is to produce an article about each of my portfolio holdings at least once a year. This is my first full article about International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), which is 2.00% of the market value of my retirement income portfolio and provides 2.13% of the portfolio's income. I initiated a position in IBM in March 2015 at $160.02, and proceeded to "average down," buying shares as low as $121.19 in January 2016. The cost basis is $140.44.
In this article, I briefly highlight IBM's long history and the value of leadership through a period of enormous change, beginning with Tom Watson, Sr., in 1914. I did something different in preparing for this article. I spent considerable time reading and analyzing the CEO's letters to shareholders in IBM's annual reports from 2009-2016. These are available for download in pdf form, and I invite you to read them for yourself if you are a shareholder or contemplating owning shares of IBM. I went into this study with a negative bias, actually hoping I would be convinced to sell the shares. My view is a bit more nuanced now.
