CFLT stock price: IBM deal to buy Confluent for $11 billion shows that investors still think AI is popping

IBM announced on Monday it is acquiring Confluent for $11 billion, sending shares of the data streaming platform up about 29% in morning trading.

By midday trading, at the time of this writing, Confluent (CFLT) stock was holding steady, up 29%. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) stock was up about 1.5%.

Confluent provides a leading open-source enterprise data streaming platform that connects, processes, and governs reusable and reliable data and events in real time, foundational for the deployment of AI.

The deal is an example of how IBM is actively engaging in the increasingly competitive, high-stakes AI arms race that’s now dominating technology companies.

Why is this a big deal?

The deal is one of the largest in recent memory for IBM, The Wall Street Journal reported. The company is paying $31 a share for Confluent in an all cash deal.

Confluent will continue to operate as a distinct brand and business within IBM after the close of the deal (which is subject to regulatory approval).

“Data is at the heart of what companies need to do to harness AI, modernize their operations, and build the next generation of applications; and Confluent is at the heart of what companies need to harness their data,” Confluent CEO Jay Kreps said in a statement. “IBM sees the same future we do: one in which enterprises run on continuous, event-driven intelligence, with data moving freely and reliably across every part of the business.”

“IBM and Confluent together will enable enterprises to deploy generative and agentic AI better and faster by providing trusted communication and data flow between environments, applications and APIs,” IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said in a press release. “With the acquisition of Confluent, IBM will provide the smart data platform for enterprise IT, purpose-built for AI.”

IBM financials

At the time of this writing midday Monday, IBM had a market capitalization of $292.12 billion, while Confluent had a $10.44 billion market cap.

For the third quarter of 2025, IBM beat Wall Street’s estimates for both revenue and earnings per share (EPS). Its AI book of business surpassed $9.5 billion, up from $7.5 billion during the second quarter.