IBM Falls After Slightly Disappointing Quarter

Shares of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) gained 3.42 percent on Monday, but were falling after hours following the announcement of company’s first quarter financial results.

IBM reported net income of $2.33 billion for the quarter.

Earnings increased by 9 percent to $2.91 per share. This figure stands above the Street’s consensus of $2.89, but below the Estimize consensus of $2.93.

See Also: IBM Earnings Live Blog: Q1 Conference Call

The company reported a 12 percent decline in revenue to $19.59 billion, also falling below consensus estimates. The main drivers of the underperformance were FX headwinds and weakness in the hardware business. If adjusted for FX headwinds and divested businesses, revenue was flat year-over-year.

The gross profit margin surged 80 basis points to 49.3 percent.

The quarter ended with $8.8 billion in cash.

Cloud revenues (adjusted by FX and divested businesses) rose more than 75 percent. For cloud delivered as a service, the annual run rate came in at $3.8 billion, versus $2.3 billion in the first quarter of 2014.

IBM Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty said in a press release, "In the first quarter we had a strong start to the year. Our strategic imperatives growth rate accelerated, demonstrating the power of our offerings in these new opportunities and contributing to improved revenue performance.”

“Our focus on higher value through portfolio transformation and investment in key areas of the business drove continued margin expansion,” Rometty added.