The stock of IBM is up about 3% after the technology giant reported second-quarter financial results that exceeded Wall Street forecasts.
Armonk, New York-based IBM announced earnings per share (EPS) of $2.43 U.S. compared to $2.20 U.S. that was expected among analysts who track the company’s progress.
Revenue in the April through June quarter totaled $15.77 billion U.S., which surpassed consensus estimates of $15.62 billion U.S. Sales were up 1.9% from a year ago.
The company, which provides hardware, software and consulting services attributed the strong results to a rebound in technology spending, as well as spending on artificial intelligence (A.I.).
IBM said that its book of business for generative artificial intelligence (A.I.) now stands at more than $2 billion U.S., more than double the $1 billion U.S. it was at in April of this year.
IBM said revenue in its software business totaled $6.74 billion U.S. at the end of Q2, up 7% year-over-year and more than the consensus forecast of $6.49 billion U.S.
The company’s infrastructure segment that contains mainframe computers posted $3.65 billion U.S. in revenue, up 0.8% and higher than the $3.51 billion U.S. consensus estimate.
However, the consulting side of the business generated $5.18 billion U.S. in Q2 revenue, down 0.9% and below the $5.23 billion U.S. that was expected on Wall Street.
During Q2, IBM announced an acquisition of software firm HashiCorp (HCP) for $6.4 billion U.S. The company also announced plans to build data centre infrastructure in Montreal.
Looking ahead, IBM said that it now expects 2024 free cash flow of more than $12 billion U.S. It previously forecast free cash flow of exactly $12 billion U.S.
Before today (July 25), IBM’s stock had risen 31% over the last 12 months to trade at $184.02 U.S. per share.
Tech Insider
