IBM exits chip business

Article Excerpt

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP. $162 (New York symbol IBM, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 997.6 million; Market cap: $161.6 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ibm.com) is selling its computer chip manufacturing operations to Globalfoundries Inc. However, IBM will not get any payment for these assets. Instead, it will pay $1.5 billion to Globalfoundries to take over this money-losing business. IBM has also agreed to buy chips from Globalfoundries for the next 10 years. This move is part of IBM’s plan to focus on its more-profitable computer services and software divisions. Even so, many of its corporate clients are spending less on new computers as the global economy slows. That’s mainly why IBM’s revenue in the third quarter of 2014 fell 4.0%, to $22.4 billion from $23.3 billion a year earlier. Earnings fell 18.1%, to $3.7 billion from $4.5 billion, while earnings per share declined 9.8%, to $3.68 from $4.08,…