Anthropic’s Claude Code sparks 10% drop in IBM stock as consultancies fall
Feb 23rd 2026
Anthropic launched Claude Code, an AI tool that automates COBOL modernization analysis, triggering an intraday selloff in IBM and declines in Accenture and Cognizant amid concerns over legacy modernization revenues.
- Anthropic released Claude Code to automate exploration and analysis of COBOL codebases.
- IBM shares fell about 10% intraday after the announcement, with Accenture and Cognizant also retreating.
- IBM, Accenture and Cognizant earn significant revenue from legacy COBOL modernization services.
- Anthropic says Claude Code maps dependencies, traces execution paths and documents workflows across large codebases.
- COBOL still powers critical systems including an estimated 95% of US ATM transactions and billions of lines in production.
- Anthropic published a Code Modernization Playbook and claims AI can shorten modernization projects from years to quarters.