Topic: How To Invest

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, January 19, 2018

Article Excerpt

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP., $162.37, New York symbol IBM, is one of the world’s largest computer companies, with operations in over 175 countries. IBM continues to see slowing demand for its traditional mainframe computers and related services. As a result, it continues to shift its focus to faster-growing fields. They include cloud computing services (the storage of files and programs using the Internet) and analytics software (including its Watson supercomputer) that can process increasingly large amounts of data. The company is also in a strong position to profit from rising interest in blockchain software technology and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. It recently teamed up with container shipping firm A.P. Moller-Maersk to develop a new blockchain system that would help manage and track shipping containers. Meantime, IBM earned $4.81 billion in the three months ended December 31, 2017. That’s a gain of 0.7% over its year-earlier profit of $4.78 billion. Due to fewer shares outstanding, per-share profits rose 3.4%, to $5.18 from $5.01. Those figures exclude…