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IBM might be headed for a kicking

by on16 November 2017


Wall Street predicting Square will make its eyes water

One of the top performing hedge funds is betting that shares of the ever-shrinking Biggish Blue are set to fall.

President and Founder of Light Street Capital Management Glen Kacher, whose Light Street Capital hedge fund is up 53 percent this year through October, told the Reuters Global Investment 2018 Outlook  Summit that Square technology could mean “trouble” for companies that draw revenue from lesser point-of-sale technology, such as IBM, VeriFone Systems and Ingenico Group.

For those who came in late, Square, which is run by Twitter’s Jack Dorsey's is cash payment’s outfit which is becoming fairly state of the art. It is currently testing support for Bitcoin through its Cash payments app. Shares of Square are up 197 percent for the year to date as the company expands its network of devices that allow small businesses to accept debit and credit cards using tablet computers or smart phones.

Kacher said he is shorting the stock of IBM, which is down 11.5 percent for the year to date. The shares are 32 percent below their peak price in March 2013.

“What Square has done with their point-of-sale technology is off-the-charts stunning”, Kacher said. “The idea that  the deli has better technology than Wal-Mart is stunning.”

Shares of IBM closed down 1.2 percent on Wednesday, a day after a regulatory filing showed that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway reduced its stake in the company by 32 percent in the third quarter.

Over the last year, Buffett has reduced his stake in IBM by 52 percent and now owns approximately 37 million shares.

 

Last modified on 16 November 2017
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