IBM’s shares fell by nearly 4pc in after-hours trading in New York last night after the company reported third-quarter net income of US$3.8bn on revenues of US$26.2bn.
While these represented increases of 7pc and 8pc respectively over the same period in 2010, the company’s revenue for the quarter was just short of Wall Street expectations.
The company announced earnings of US$3.19 per share, up 13pc from US$2.82 per share in the third quarter of last year.
“In the third quarter, we drove revenue growth, margin expansion and increased earnings as a result of our innovation-based strategy and continued investment in growth initiatives,” said Samuel J Palmisano, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer.
“Growth markets delivered outstanding revenue performance across software, hardware and services and contributed to the company’s expanded margins. We also achieved strong results in Smarter Planet, business analytics and cloud.
“Based on this performance, we are raising our 2011 full-year operating earnings per share expectations to at least US$13.35.”
Article courtesy of Businessandleadership.com
