When reports surfaced last month that IBM
Big Blue reported $21.71 billion in first-quarter revenue, down 11%. That's roughly $800 million less than the average analyst estimate, according to Reuters. A stronger dollar was at least partly to blame; revenue fell just 4% after adjusting for currency fluctuations, management said.
Even so, it appears that IBM's cost-cutting measures -- which I thought it was making to prepare for a deal with Sun Microsystems
Big Blue turned a top-line miss into a bottom-line beat. Diluted per-share earnings rose 4% to $1.70, besting the Street consensus by $0.03. Huge buybacks -- thinning shares outstanding by 4.4% -- fueled most of the gains.
Yet IBM arguably has as much (if not more) cause for optimism than Google
It'll have to hit that mark without the benefit of Sun, which Oracle
A tough economy. Tough competitors. Things never get easy for IBM, but the company's more than making do all the same.
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