On the surface, International Business Machines' (NYSE: IBM) second-quarter earnings report was a mixed bag. While the century-old tech giant beat analyst expectations for profit, a slight revenue decline came up short of what analysts were expecting in the July 19 report.

Under the surface, IBM's results paint a picture of a company making solid progress. The revenue decline was due solely to the hardware business and the product life cycle dynamics of the company's mainframe business. Both software and consulting posted strong growth, and IBM stuck with its guidance for the full year.

IBM has put two technologies at the center of its transformation efforts: hybrid cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

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Source Fool.com