Topic: How To Invest

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, April 21, 2017

Article Excerpt

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP., $160.38, New York symbol IBM, is one of the world’s largest computer companies, with operations in over 175 countries. The company reported better-than-expected earnings in the first quarter of 2017. However, lower revenue and profit margins caused the stock to fall 5% this week. In the three months ended March 31, 2017, IBM’s overall earnings declined 0.7%, to $2.26 billion from $2.27 billion a year earlier. Due to fewer shares outstanding, per-share profits rose 1.3%, to $2.38 from $2.35. Those figures exclude unusual items, such as costs related to recent acquisitions and changes to IBM’s employee pension plans. On that basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $2.35 a share. Due to slowing demand for its mainframe computers and consulting services, the company’s revenue in the quarter fell 2.8%, to $18.2 billion from $18.6 billion a year earlier. That missed the consensus estimate of $18.4 billion. As well, IBM’s gross profit margin (gross profits divided by revenue) worsened…