IBM’s fourth-quarter earnings grew 6 percent even as revenue was largely flat, as the company benefited from growing software businesses.
IBM said yesterday that it earned $5.83 billion, or $5.13 per share, in the quarter. That’s up from $5.49 billion, or $4.62 per share, in the same period a year earlier.
That was the company’s 40th consecutive quarter of growing earnings per share from a year earlier.
Excluding special items, earnings were $5.39 per share in the latest quarter, above Wall Street’s estimates of $5.25 per share.
Revenue slid less than 1 percent to $29.3 billion from $29.49 billion. It would have been flat were it not for currency fluctuations, which translated to fewer dollars IBM made on overseas sales. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected revenue of $29.12 billion.
The results beat expectations, as did the company’s guidance for the current year. IBM’s stock increased more than 4 percent in after-hours trading.