IBM beats estimates with early earnings
IBM Corp. announced its third-quarter results earlier than expected Wednesday, and the company beat Wall Street’s profit estimate and reaffirmed its full-year 2008 guidance. The stock, a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, gained nearly 4% in after-hours trading on the news.
The Armonk, N.Y.-based company said after the market closed that it earned $2.05 per share in the July-September period, four pennies higher than the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Net income for the period was $2.8 billion, an increase of 20% over the same period last year.
Sales increased 5% to $25.3 billion but fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. Excluding the effects of currency fluctuations, IBM’s sales increased 2% (faxless payday loans).
Analysts were expecting sales of $26.5 billion, but some had started to lower their forecasts ahead of the unexpected announcement Wednesday because of a strengthening U.S. dollar and the deteriorating economy.
IBM maintained its forecast of at least $8.75 per share in profit in 2008, a 22% improvement over last year.
IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) shares gained $3.46, 3.8%, to $94.01 in after-hours trading. They closed down $5.10, 5.3%, at $90.55 during the regular trading session.