Skip Links

Network World

  • Social Web 
  • Email 
  • Close

(Comma separation for multiple addresses)
Your Message:

IBM reports 20% jump in Q3 net income

By James Niccolai , IDG News Service , 10/08/2008
  • Share/Email
  • Tweet This
  • Comment
  • Print

IBM on Wednesday reported a 20% increase in net income for its third quarter and said its profit outlook for the full year remains on track.

The preannouncement came one week before IBM is due to report its full financial results on Oct. 16 and may help calm technology investors, who have been pummelling stocks amid fears of a spending slowdown caused by the U.S. financial crisis.

On Monday, software vendor SAP said concern about the financial crisis among its customers led to a "very sudden and unexpected drop in business activity" at the end of its third quarter.

IBM suggested that the broad scope of its business will help it to better weather the crisis.

“Our results demonstrate that the combination of a steady base of recurring revenue and profits, investments for growth in emerging markets, a range of products and services that deliver value to clients, and a strong and flexible financial foundation give IBM a competitive edge in good times and tough times,” Sam Palmisano, IBM's chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement. “We remain confident in our full-year outlook.”

IBM reported revenue for the third quarter of $25.3 billion, up 5% from the year before, including 3 percentage points from favorable exchange rates. Net income climbed 20% to $2.8 billion, with earnings per share up 22% to $2.05.

The earnings beat the expectations of financial analysts by $0.03 per share, but the revenue figure is considerably lower than the analyst forecast of $26.5 billion.

IBM reaffirmed its full-year outlook for earnings per share of at least $8.75, which would be an increase of 22% over fiscal 2007 and one penny short of the analyst forecast. IBM didn't provide a revenue estimate for the full year.

Shares in IBM were down 5% at the close of normal trading Wednesday, at $90.55. They had climbed 4% higher in trading after hours at the time of this report.

  • Share/Email
  • Tweet This
  • Comment
  • Print

Partner Content

Gartner 2009 Magic Quadrant for Job Scheduling

Gartner has positioned BMC CONTROL-M in the Leaders Quadrant of their "2009 Magic Quadrant for Job Scheduling." The report assesses the ability to execute and completeness of vision of key vendors in the marketplace. Read a full copy today, courtesy of BMC Software.

Download whitepaper

Dell's SMART Approach to Workload Automation

Read a compelling case study by EMA, Inc. to learn how Dell uses BMC CONTROL-M to cut cost and increase productivity with workload automation.

Download whitepaper

Workload Automation Cost Savings 2 Minute Video

A major computer manufacturer uses BMC CONTROL-M and just four people to schedule and run over 85,000 jobs every month. By switching to BMC CONTROL-M, they more than quadrupled the workload without adding a single staff member.  See how in this 2-minute video overview.

Go to video

Comment
Login
Forgot your account info?
Add comment
Anonymous comments subject to approval. Register here for member benefits.
Have a NetworkWorld account? Log in here. Register now for a free account.

Videos

rssRss Feed