IBM reported financial results that exceeded Wall Street expectations, as the technology company continues to thrive despite the shaky global economy.
The New York company, which employs about 10,000 people at its campus in Research Triangle Park, reported a third-quarter profit of $2.82 a share. Revenue rose 3 percent from a year ago to $24.3 billion.
IBM also raised its earnings per share projection for the year to at least $11.40, up from $11.25.
Still, new service contracts fell 7 percent during the third quarter to $11 billion, the third straight quarterly drop. That suggests the recovery in tech spending may be losing steam, Bloomberg News reported.
IBM shares have been hitting record highs recently and may be due for a pullback. Investors are betting that CEO Sam Palmisano's efforts to remake the company by focusing more on software and services and less on hardware are paying off.
The shares rose $1.77 today to $142.83, and are up 17 percent in the past year.
Assistant Business Editor Alan M. Wolf joined the N&O in 1999 covering the business of health care. He became an editor in 2001, and helps oversee the paper's daily business coverage and Sunday Work&Money section. He lives in Clayton with his wife and two children. Reach him at 919-829-4572 or
Comments
Congrats to India-Based Manpower
Mon, 10/18/2010 - 21:37 — avg_joeI'm sure their workforce in India is thrilled. Has IBM India hit the 200,000-mark yet? A few years back, IBM stopped publishing numbers on it's breakdown of workers by country. Do we really need to ask why?
Needless to say, RTP's heyday as an IBM site has long since passed. As for the remaining workforce in RTP, you're looking at 10,000 people IBM can still lay off as needed to keep hitting those profit targets going forward.
Time for more Layoffs
Mon, 10/18/2010 - 16:33 — mike27513Time for Indian Business Machines [ IBM] to outsource the rest of RTP to India.
More Record Profit Potential!