Paul Tudor Jones is no stranger to spotting macro turning points. But his firm, Tudor Investment‘s newest bet on International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) is suddenly facing a test few investors saw coming.
Paul Tudor Jones’ IBM Bet Meets AI Reality
The billionaire hedge fund manager initiated a new position in IBM in the fourth quarter of 2025, buying roughly 100,000 shares valued at about $29.6 million, with an average purchase price of $289.19, according to HedgeFollow. At the time, the move signaled confidence in IBM's positioning as an enterprise AI beneficiary — not a casualty.
That narrative shifted abruptly this week.
IBM stock plunged about 13% in a single session after Anthropic unveiled Claude Code, an AI tool capable of analyzing and modernizing legacy codebases — including COBOL, the decades-old programming language that still underpins many of IBM's enterprise systems.
The selloff erased roughly $30 billion from IBM's market capitalization, marking its worst single-day wipeout in decades.
For Tudor Jones, the timing is striking. With IBM stock now trading roughly 20% below his reported entry price, his fresh bet is already under pressure — underscoring how quickly AI is reshaping the investment landscape.
IBM's Core Business Now In The Crosshairs
The market reaction reflects a deeper concern: Claude Code targets one of IBM's most valuable moats — legacy system modernization and enterprise consulting.
For decades, IBM's dominance rested on helping large organizations maintain and upgrade mission-critical infrastructure. Claude Code threatens to compress timelines that once took months into hours, raising questions about the long-term durability of that business model.
That shift is forcing investors to reconsider whether IBM is truly an AI winner — or one of its earliest large-cap casualties.
For now, the message from markets is clear. Even legendary investors like Jones aren't immune to the speed — or scale — of AI disruption.
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