IBM shares jump after company reports 6% revenue growth in fourth quarter

Earnings

In this article

SVP and Director at IBM Research Arvind Krishna speaks on stage during the 2016 Wired Business Conference on June 16, 2016 in New York City.
Brian Ach | Wired | Getty Images

IBM shares jumped as much as 7% in extended trading on Monday after the software and services company said revenue climbed 6% in the fourth quarter.

Here’s how the company did:

  • Earnings: $3.35 per share, adjusted
  • Revenue: $16.7 billion

During the period, IBM spun out is managed infrastructure services business into Kyndryl. For IBM’s continuing operations, revenue rose 6% from a year earlier, the company said a statement. Part of the growth comes from sales to Kyndryl.

IBM executives have been telling investors of late to look for mid-single digit revenue growth. In the prior quarter, IBM’s revenue from continuing operations increased by 2%. The company showed its fastest revenue growth since the third quarter of 2011.

Net income in the fourth quarter jumped 72% from a year earlier to $2.33 billion increased, while gross margin narrowed to 56.9% from 58.9%.

IBM streamlined its reporting segments for the fourth quarter in conjunction with the Kyndryl separation. Its software business, formerly known as Cloud and Cognitive Software, generated $7.27 billion in revenue, up 8% from a year earlier.

Revenue in the consulting unit, previously named Global Business Services, rose 13% to $4.75 billion. The IBM infrastructure business, which includes hardware, was down 0.3% to $4.41 billion.

As of the close on Monday, IBM shares are down 4% since the start of the year, while the S&P 500 is down 8%.

In addition to completing the Kyndryl transaction, IBM announced during the period the acquisitions of Australian cloud consulting company SXiQ and a consulting unit that handles Adobe implementations. It also announced a vertical semiconductor transistor architecture alongside Samsung. 

Executives will discuss the results and expectations for the year with analysts on a conference call starting at 5 p.m. ET.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

WATCH: Charts suggest it’s time to fade IBM, says Carter Worth