Has IBM Finally Turned Itself Around?
IBM (NYSE: IBM) investors got a rare treat when IBM reported earnings -- optimism! Big Blue reported third-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations by a good margin. The top line was especially important, as skeptics usually point to Big Blue's 22 straight quarters of declining revenue as evidence of a rapidly eroding business.
But the company's revenue of $19.15 billion beat analyst expectations by a significant $550 million. To be sure, this figure was still down year-over-year, but only by 0.4%, suggesting a bottoming of IBM's revenue trajectory, and the possibility of the long-awaited-for return to growth, the lack of which has vexed impatient investors over the past few years. So what's behind the positive numbers, and are they for real?
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Source: Fool.com