IBM is on the right track

Article Excerpt

IBM $156.96 (New York symbol IBM; Shares outstanding: 989.7 million; Market cap: $157.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 2.8%; www.ibm.com) reported better-than-expected earnings in the latest quarter, but that was mainly due to cost cuts, as demand for the company’s mainframes and computer services has weakened. In the three months ended December 31, 2014, IBM’s per-share earnings fell 5.7%, to $5.81 from $6.16. That beat the consensus estimate of $5.41. Revenue fell 11.9%, to $24.1 billion from $27.4 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $24.8 billion. If you adjust for foreign exchange rates and the sale of the company’s server business, revenue declined by 2%. IBM recently updated its mainframes, which should help boost its sales in 2015. New offerings in faster-growing areas, like cloud computing, mobile and analytics, should also spur its results. In the latest quarter, revenue from these areas rose 16% and accounted for 25% of IBM’s total. The company expects to earn $15.75 to…