The decline is especially meaningful for them because the field they used to compete in (tech) exploded over the last 15 years. It has long been turning into a body shop where you would not expect to see any advancement, surely not like the old days.
https://companiesmarketcap.com/ibm/marketcap/
Profit, profit margin, and number of employees has been in steady decline for many years:
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/IBM/ibm/net-income
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/IBM/ibm/profit-mar...
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/IBM/ibm/number-of-...
The decline is especially meaningful for them because the field they used to compete in (tech) exploded over the last 15 years. It has long been turning into a body shop where you would not expect to see any advancement, surely not like the old days.