Your nickname may be Big Blue, but that doesn't mean you don't have to sing the blues.
IBM
Newly appointed CEO Ginny Rometty explained that the quarter rested on "outstanding results" in all four of the company's big, bold growth initiatives. Fellow Fool Tim Beyers wanted to see a deep discussion of Big Blue's Smarter Planet program, and we did get a little bit of that. Smarter Planet as a whole kept up its 50% year-over-year sales growth, thanks in large part to the Smarter Commerce piece. That program helps companies do business with customers, suppliers, and one another; "We’re not just addressing an existing market, we’re actually making markets," said CFO Mark Loughridge.
The company keeps growing its market share in Unix systems at the expense of Hewlett-Packard
So Ginny takes the helm of a remarkably fresh-looking 100-year-old tech giant. Looking ahead, management feels confident of achieving $20 of earnings per share in 2015 -- up from $13.44 in 2011 -- and plan to get there by staying nimble. You won't find these guys singing the blues as long as they keep that forward-looking mentality.
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