IBM shares tumbled late Wednesday even as the tech mainstay beat Wall Street expectations for the fourth quarter.
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During the December period, IBM (IBM) earned $3.60 per share, excluding some items, on revenue of $16.69 billion. Earnings topped analysts’ forecasts by a penny, according to FactSet. Those analysts were also expecting $16.15 billion in revenue. Year over year, earnings rose 7.5% and sales were roughly flat.
Excluding currency effects, the strongest growth came from IBM’s consulting business. Revenue rose more than 9% to $4.8 billion. Revenue at its much larger software business rose 8% to $7.3 billion, leading to a 7.4% increase in its infrastructure division. Infrastructure revenue was $4.5 billion.
IBM forecast full-year revenue growth in the mid-single-digit percentage range. That would eliminate the effects of exchange rates. IBM equity analysts were forecasting revenue of $60.8 billion, which would be flat after revenue growth of about 6% in 2022.
In after-hours trading on the stock exchange today, IBM shares fell 1.6% to 138.55. According to MarketSmith.com, shares are forming a flat base with a buy point at 153.31.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
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