IBM shares drop after 1Q results

NEW YORK (AP) — IBM Corp.‘s high-flying stock slipped Wednesday after the technology bellwether disappointed investors who had expected higher revenue in the first quarter revenue.

THE SPARK: IBM’s earnings flew past Wall Street’s expectations, but its revenue was a tad below. Investors have had high expectations for IBM, driving shares to a record earlier this month.

THE BIG PICTURE: IBM is the world’s largest technology services company. Its results provide a gauge of businesses’ appetite for technology spending.

Revenue grew in IBM’s profitable services business and inched higher in its software division, but hardware revenue dropped. Services bookings, a closely watched figure, grew 15 percent to $11.8 billion, surpassing analysts’ expectations.

The company did talk about some weakness in demand from the public sector and in Japan during a conference call with analysts.

THE ANALYSIS: The company’s results suggest stability in the market, particularly for services, said Janney analyst Joseph Foresi, who rates IBM “Buy.”

Cowen Co. analyst Moshe Katri said the news about softer demand from Japan and governments was negative, but also said that emerging markets were still powering IBM’s growth and that trends in Europe were stable. Europe is suffering through a long-running debt crisis that has hurt economic growth in many countries using the euro. He rates IBM’s stock “Outperform,”

SHARE ACTION: Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM’s stock fell $6.68, or 3.2 percent, to $200.77 in afternoon trading. The stock hit $210.69, its highest level ever, on April 3.

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