IBM stock fell Thursday, even as the tech giant beat Wall Street’s fourth-quarter expectations.
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In December IBM ( IBM ) earned $3.60 per share on sales of $16.69 billion, minus certain items. Earnings topped analysts’ forecasts by a penny, according to FactSet. Those analysts also expected sales of $16.15 billion. Year-over-year, revenue grew 7.5 percent and sales were flat.
Excluding the impact of exchange rates, the strongest growth came from IBM’s consulting business. Revenue grew more than 9 percent to $4.8 billion. Sales in its much larger software business rose 8% to $7.3 billion, a 7.4% jump for its infrastructure division. Infrastructure sales were $4.5 billion.
IBM had forecast sales to grow by a mid-single-digit percentage for the full year. This eliminates the impact of exchange rates. IBM’s stock analysts estimate sales of $60.8 billion, which will be flat in 2022 after 6 percent sales growth.
Today in the stock market, IBM shares fell by 4.5% and closed at 134.45. That put shares below the lower bound of a flat base at a 153.31 buy point, according to MarketSmith.com. IBM’s stock is down near its 200-day moving average.
Follow Alison Gatlin on Twitter @IBD_AGAtlin.
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