Topic: How To Invest

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, January 26, 2018

Article Excerpt

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP., $167.34, New York symbol IBM, is one of the world’s largest computer companies, with operations in over 175 countries. IBM has a long history of transforming its businesses in response to rapidly shifting technologies and trends. As demand for its traditional mainframe computers and consulting services has slowed, the company has shifted its focus to more-promising 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. IBM calls those new businesses Strategic Imperatives. In 2017, revenue from those operations rose 11%. They now account for 46% of the company’s total revenue, up from 41% in 2016. The company also continues to spur its growth with a strong commitment to research. In 2017, it spent $5.8 billion, or 7.3% of its total revenue, on research. IBM can comfortably afford that spending. Its free cash flow (regular cash flow less capital expenditures)…