Historically tumultuous times offer some of the best opportunities to buy stocks, and the market's current mess surely qualifies. And when the stock in question is a seasoned leader like global information technology firm IBM (NYSE:IBM), there are many reasons to consider buying shares.

In our Motley Fool CAPS community, an impressive 3,436 investors (out of more than 130,000 total) have shared their bullish or bearish opinions on Big Blue. Poring through the detailed information packed in pitches and other comments, I've dug up three of the top reasons why many members consider IBM a good buy today:

1. Recession-resistant
Fellow technology leader Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ:JAVA) is showing signs of falling behind the curve, and peer HP (NYSE:HPQ) has its own hidden weaknesses, but IBM has stayed strong throughout the downturn. The company has exceeded earnings guidance in the last five quarters, and in eight of the last 10, and has never fallen below the Street consensus.

2. Increasing presence
IBM already competes in many aspects of the tech world, and it's pushing into new areas in search of growth. A move into business analytics consulting will complement its built-up analytics software presence, which competes with those of Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) and SAP (NYSE:SAP). It'll also position the company at the forefront of a new wave of technology and processes to make businesses more efficient.

IBM also aims to jumpstart cloud computing's role in the business world, now that companies such as Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) have already made great strides in offering the new paradigm for services.

3. Lots o' cash
IBM's shift toward focusing on higher-margin software and services has kept the cash flowing in by the truckload. It sits on cash and equivalents of nearly $13 billion, enabling IBM to easily make acquisitions and new investments where desired.              

Of course, there's a lot more devil in the details of these buy-side opinions. That's what makes CAPS such a great resource to check and balance your own analysis by examining the bullish and bearish sides to every stock. To see what the very best CAPS members are saying now about IBM, just click on over to Motley Fool CAPS and have a look. It's all free, and your opinion's welcome, too.

Further Foolishness:

Fool contributor Dave Mock has never run with the bulls, because he likes his body in its ungored form. He owns no shares of companies mentioned here. Google is a Motley Fool Rule Breakers recommendation. Amazon.com is a Stock Advisor pick. The Fool's disclosure policy used a paper route and mowing lawns to support a voracious chewing-gum habit.