IBM Earnings Beat Analysts' Forecast; Shares Rise
IBM reported fourth quarter earnings that toppedWall Street's earnings expectationson Thursday, sending its shares slightly higher in trading after the closing bell.
The company posted fourth-quarter earnings excluding items of $4.71 per share, up from $4.18 in the same period a year earlier.
Revenue was $29.5 billion, an increase from $29.02 billion a year ago, but beneath analysts’ expectations.
Analysts had expected the company to report earnings excluding items of $4.62 a share on $29.71 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.
After the earnings announcement, the company's shares rose 3.4 percent in extended trading, after initially closing slightly down.
For the full year, IBM is forecasting adjusted earnings of at least $14.85 per share, well above the $13.36 per share that analysts are expecting.
New CEO Ginni Rometty said IBM is "well on track" toward its long-term goal of hitting at least $20 per share in adjusted earnings in 2015—a rare example of a long-term earnings target disclosed publicly by a such a large company.
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