IBM is an icon of the technology industry. Or at least it was.
Paul Morigi / Getty Images for FORTUNE
IBM once stood alongside Microsoft and Intel as icons at the forefront of the technology industry. But now, it's on its way to making history — and not in the good way.
The technology company is sent to end 2014 as the worst performing stock among the 30 companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. And this would be the second consecutive year the company finished last among the blue chip stocks of the Dow -- an achievement that, according to the Wall Street Journal, was last pulled off by Bethlehem Steel in 1995 and 1996.
For those paying attention to the technology industry, this doesn't come as a huge surprise: IBM has long been playing a desperate game of catch-up. In 2014 alone, IBM lost more than $25 billion in value, despite IBM's aggressive share buyback programs, which typically raises the value of outstanding shares.
Just how bad is that decline? Let's put it in perspective:
In the same year IBM lost $25 billion in value, Facebook's valuation rose by about $68.7 billion.
Stephen Lam / Reuters
Since going public in 2012, Facebook has quickly found its footing as a mobile advertising company, creating several lucrative lines of business. It also recently launched Atlas, a new flagship advertising product, that should expand its advertising footprint even further. Already, Facebook has surpassed many of the old guard technology companies and is well on its way to being among the highest-valued technology companies in the world.
