The answer probably depends on where you define the "birth" of IBM - the founding of the companies that merged to create IBM, the date of the merger, or the date they changed the name and/or began producing business machines with the name "IBM" on them.

In the context of the thread, it's reasonable to say that both at 22 and 45 IBM had strong leadership (Watson Sr.) that successfully managed a diverse group of subsidiaries. Although in neither case are there any products like a modern digital computer involved.

At 45 I guess they were expanding into Europe.

Yep, selling Hollerith card equipment to Germany in the 30's and 40's.

That math doesn’t work out. IBM was formed in 1911. 45 years old would be 1956.

Also doing business in Europe in the 1930s doesn’t mean that’s when they expanded. That business could have been decades old by then.

Some quick reading of the history of IBM and subsidiaries suggests they were doing business in Europe by the 1920s.

Like Nazi allies, according to some Holocaust survivors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_the_Holocaust https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_during_World_War_II.

Maybe in 20 years we talk about Apple/Microsoft/AMD etc like that...but it's not Germany but China.

It's not like the Holocaust survivors were the ones in the the commuting offices witnessing the deals.