Why is that the only alternative? Couldn’t the consequences of this particular action in fact be a good financial decision due to negative feelings toward face detection software held by some portion of IBM’s potential customers or the general public?

I suppose so. But isn't that view a cynical one also? It's not a moral stand if it's to your benefit.

I don’t understand why it would be a problem if making a moral choice is also advantageous for other reasons. In fact, surely we should strive to arrange society in such a manner that these things align.

But we don't have such a society today. So there's a distinction between those making a sacrifice and those that are not.