• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less

1

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
TechPointCloud

Here’s What Analysts Are Saying About IBM’s Latest Earnings

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 18, 2016, 4:57 PM ET
IBM's Rometty gives a keynote address during the 2016 CES trade show in Las Vegas
Ginni Rometty, chairman, president and CEO of IBM, gives a keynote address during the 2016 CES trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 6, 2016. REUTERS/Steve Marcus - RTX21CCSSteve Marcus — Reuters
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

International Business Machines is still in turnaround mode.

The business technology giant posted its 18th consecutive quarter of declining revenue, but it beat analyst estimates for its latest quarter on Monday. Still, on Tuesday, IBM’s shares fell 2.6% to $150.72.

IBM (IBM) said that its so-called “strategic imperatives” of cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and related data crunching, and cyber security grew 16% to $8 billion. Still, several prominent analysts expressed concern that IBM’s faster-growing areas, like the IBM Watson data crunching service, are still not offsetting the declines in its legacy software business.

Some analysts expressed optimism that the company’s 44% gain in cloud revenue shows that IBM CEO Ginni Rometty’s plans to focus on higher-growth businesses are working. At Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit, Rometty emphasized IBM’s commitment to Watson and related technologies, saying that while “some companies are high-growth,” IBM is “high-value.”

Here’s a roundup of what analysts are saying:

From Sweta Killa, an analyst at Zacks Investment Research:

Earnings per share came in at $3.29, well above our estimated $3.21 but down 1% from the year-ago quarter. Revenues remained unchanged year over year at $19.23 billion and outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $19.01 billion. This suggests that IBM is finally turning around its fortunes as new strategic business lines like cloud computing, big data and mobile security are growing in double digits.

From Toni Sacconaghi, Jr., a senior research analyst at Bernstein:

Overall, we found Q3 results to be sobering on several fronts: (1) While strategic imperatives growth rate improved, IBM’s overall organic growth rate continued to decline YoY (-3%), suggesting a transformation is not yet afoot; (2) Gross margins are falling strikingly; (3) we detected some incremental caution from IBM around its Software business, which we estimate will decline at least 4% at constant currency on an organic basis this year, following a 4% decline last year; and (4) Services signings were very weak – in fact the two weakest signings quarters in the last 10 years at IBM have occurred in FY 16 (Q1 and Q3), which is not a good leading indicator for future revenues.

From Barclays analysts Mark Moskowitz and Daniel Gaide:

IBM’s 3Q results were low quality, missing on an important hurdle – margin expansion. Revenue and EPS beat, but there were a lot of moving parts required, given the weak margin performance as mix and investment in the model weigh. We think investors had been looking for signs of a margin turnaround following all of the big cuts announced in January.

From CFRA Research equity analyst David Holt:

Revenues were flat, as 16% growth in Strategic Imperatives (40% of revenue) was offset by a 21% decline in its Systems segment. We think the pace of acquisitions ($5.5B YTD) could moderate going forward, but note continued momentum from cloud.

From Credit Suisse analysts including Kulbinder Garcha:

Yesterday, IBM announced F3Q16 results, which at first glance were better than expectations with revenues coming in at $19.2bn, down only 0.3% yoy (we believe this could have been helped by as much as $350mn from M&A) and EPS at $3.29, which was also above consensus, but below our expectations. The results were again helped by non-operational measures, which we find concerning. We believe the secular and structural challenges facing IBM remain, and specifically see limited improvement in Services and Software margins.

For more about IBM, watch:

From John DiFucci, equity analyst at Jefferies, via Barron’s:

While we believe that IBM’s new software sub segments—Solutions Software, Transaction Processing Software, Integration Software, and Operating Systems—are more representative of the functionalities and use cases of software offerings belonging to each, the lack of historical disclosures over several years nonetheless complicates analysis of both IBM’s core performance and comparison with other infrastructure software vendors. In addition, while we recognize IBM’s efforts to highlight revenue attributable to cloud- based offerings and analytics solutions, it is somewhat unclear to us which offerings within these two strategic categories are actual software offerings.

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Sundar Pichai
SuccessCareers
Google CEO tells graduates to stop obsessing over first jobs because ‘very few moments are make or break’ in life—a lesson he learned in Vegas
By Preston ForeJune 25, 2026
1 hour ago
Softbank CEO dismisses Elon Musk’s extraterrestrial data center idea in favor of maximizing Earth-side construction now: ‘He who strikes first wins’
AITech
Softbank CEO dismisses Elon Musk’s extraterrestrial data center idea in favor of maximizing Earth-side construction now: ‘He who strikes first wins’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 25, 2026
1 hour ago
VivaTech entrance in Paris.
NewslettersEye on AI
Europe’s AI wake-up call: cybersecurity threats, sovereignty fears, and a growing demand for ROI dominated VivaTech
By Beatrice NolanJune 25, 2026
2 hours ago
Digital transformation technology strategy, IoT, internet of things. Businessman using smart phone with AI and Digital Icons design.
AICFO Daily
Top CFOs warn AI success depends on training employees, not just buying technology
By Sheryl EstradaJune 25, 2026
3 hours ago
Samin Menon (left) Neil Movva (right)
Startups & VentureVenture Capital
Exclusive: A former Apple engineer thinks AI infrastructure is built for the wrong future. Investors just gave him $80 million to fix it
By Lily Mae LazarusJune 25, 2026
4 hours ago
Lux Capital cofounder Josh Wolfe’s limited-odds, high-stakes 2027 predictions
NewslettersTerm Sheet
Lux Capital cofounder Josh Wolfe’s limited-odds, high-stakes 2027 predictions
By Allie GarfinkleJune 25, 2026
6 hours ago

Most Popular

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
Success
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
1 day ago
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
9 hours ago
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
Retail
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
1 day ago
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
Asia
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
1 day ago
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
2 days ago
Trump’s international student crackdown kicked off a domino effect that could shave nearly $500 billion off the economy
Economy
Trump’s international student crackdown kicked off a domino effect that could shave nearly $500 billion off the economy
By Tristan BoveJune 24, 2026
22 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.