IBM's stock split history: Why Big Blue stopped splitting shares
Stock splits used to be a common corporate practice. According to the CFA Institute Journal Review, the frequency of stock splits began increasing in the 1920s and peaked in 1982, when roughly 23% of listed companies split their shares. Tech titan IBM split its stock more than a dozen times during that period.
Back then, companies split their stock when their share prices reached "high" levels, usually $100 or more, so they would be more affordable to individual investors.
Today, the rise of electronic trading platforms like Robinhood and WeBull has made it easier for investors to purchase fractional shares, and institutional investors have increased overall liquidity, thus reducing the need for businesses to split their stock.
As a result, stock splits are now seen more as symbolic gestures or proclamations of success. For instance, both Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA) split their stock after major share price gains.
Stock splits also usually signify positive momentum for a company, and investors generally respond to a stock split announcement by buying even more shares.
Still, analysts are quick to point out that a stock split does not change the total value of an investor's shares; it only changes the number of shares held and the price of each share.
So while stock splits were once a routine part of corporate strategy, they've become a far less common practice today. Few companies illustrate that shift more clearly than IBM (IBM), which hasn't executed a traditional stock split in decades.
Related: Is IBM a good investment in 2026? Its buy-and-hold prospects explained
A Timeline of IBM's stock splits
IBM has executed more than a dozen stock splits since its founding in 1911. In fact, if you had purchased one share of IBM before May 29, 1973, you would have 20.92 IBM shares today.
Here's a full list of the company's stock splits:
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Source: IBM
IBM's stock split history explained
IBM's stock splits occurred during seasons of expansion, especially in the late 20th century, when it dominated the technology sector.
In 1979, for instance, the company introduced its 4300 series processors and advanced color display terminals, ushering once-bulky mainframe computing powers into everyday workplaces. On May 31, 1979, IBM executed a massive 4-for-1 stock split.
Later, in the 1990s, under transformative CEO Louis Gerstner, the company pivoted from selling only hardware to offering consulting services and IT services, which would make up more than half of its revenues.
And in 1997, Deep Blue, the IBM supercomputer, beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov, raising the public's attention to the potential of machine learning for the very first time.
On May 27, 1997, IBM split its shares 2-for-1.
The last time IBM executed a traditional stock split was in 1999, after it made a strategic investment in Linux, thus becoming the first company to use open-source technology in its mainframe servers.
IBM split shares 2-for-1 on May 26, 1999.
Related: How many employees work at IBM in 2026? Job locations & recent layoffs explained
Was IBM's Kyndryl spinoff a stock split?
To focus on its hybrid cloud and AI offerings, on November 3, 2021, IBM spun off its Kyndryl business. This meant that Kyndryl (KD) became an independent IT services company with its own publicly traded shares; it was not a stock split.
According to Fast Company, this is an increasingly common practice for companies to avoid becoming targets for activist investors.
IBM sent a letter to shareholders explaining that the move was a "pro rata dividend" distribution and that 80.1% of Kyndryl's common stock would be distributed to IBM shareholders.
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For every five shares of IBM stock they held on October 25, 2021, IBM shareholders received one share of the new Kyndryl (KD) stock. The tax-free distribution took place on November 3, 2021.
This spinoff did not change the number of IBM shares that shareholders owned.
As separate businesses, IBM and Kyndryl would have "more agility to focus on their operating and financial models, both will have greater freedom to partner with others, and both will align their investments and capital to their strategic focus areas," the letter stated. It added: "All of this will create value for clients and for you, the investors, with an improved financial profile of both companies."
Related: What does IBM do? Inside its AI, cloud & consulting business
Why did IBM stop splitting its stock after 1999?
Aside from the rise of fractional trading, which reduced the need to execute stock splits, along with the growing popularity of spinning off corporate divisions, which is a different way to restructure business growth, IBM has shifted its focus towards consistent dividend growth and long-term stability-making stock splits less relevant to its overall strategy.
After all, 30 consecutive years of quarterly cash increases places IBM in the elite category of dividend aristocrats - and that's something the company will always prioritize.
Related: The Dow's best dividend stocks: A shortlist for income investors
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This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 7:19 AM.