It’s a growth area for IBM

Article Excerpt

IBM $118.47 (New York symbol IBM; Shares outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $155.3 billion; SI Rating: Above Average) plans to buy SPSS Inc. (Nasdaq symbol SPSS). SPSS makes software that analyzes sales and other data. This helps its clients predict how their customers will react to such things as price changes and new advertising campaigns. SPSS adds to IBM’s expertise in the important growth area of consulting services to business and government. This expands on the company’s hardware and software offerings. IBM will pay $1.2 billion for SPSS when the deal closes later this year. To put the purchase price in context, IBM earned $3.1 billion in the three months ended June 30, 2009. IBM is still a buy. buy…