Topic: How To Invest

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, April 21, 2023

Article Excerpt

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP., $125.73, New York symbol IBM, is a buy. The company is one of the world’s largest computer firms, with operations in over 175 countries. In the past few years, IBM has shifted its focus to its more-profitable cloud computing, consulting and mainframe businesses. It now gets over 75% of its revenue from its software and consulting. In the three months ended March 31, 2023, IBM’s revenue rose 0.4%, to $14.25 billion from $14.20 billion a year earlier. That missed the consensus forecast of $14.28 billion. If you exclude exchange rates, revenue in the quarter rose at a faster rate of 4.4%. However, earnings before unusual items slipped 1.7%, to $1.25 billion from $1.27 billion. Due to more shares outstanding, per-share earnings declined at a faster pace of 2.9%, to $1.36 from $1.40. Even so, that still beat the consensus estimate of $1.26. The lower earnings are largely due to the negative impact of currency rates and higher labour costs. IBM now expects revenue…