IBM prospers in the cloud

Article Excerpt

IBM, $137.40, is still a buy. The company (New York symbol IBM; Shares o/s: 899.3 million; Market cap: $119.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.8%) is one of the world’s largest computing firms, with operations in over 175 countries. Thanks to strong growth at its cloud computing and consulting businesses, IBM’s revenue in the three months ended March 31, 2022, rose 7.7%, to $14.20 billion from $13.19 billion a year earlier. That topped the consensus forecast of $13.85 billion. Excluding one-time items, earnings rose 25.5%, to $1.27 billion from $1.01 billion. Due to more shares outstanding, per-share earnings improved at a slower pace of 25.0%, to $1.40 from $1.12. That also beat the consensus estimate of $1.38. The company will likely earn $9.76 a share in 2022, and the stock trades at a low 14.1 times that estimate. The shares yield a high 4.8%. IBM remains a buy. buy…