IBM posted better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, signaling increases in IT spending — particularly in key growth categories.
Datamation takes a look at Big Blue’s numbers, which show jumps in IT spending across the globe and across IBM’s divisions.
That’s good news for the embattled IT sector, which has been looking for reasons for optimism about the coming year in tech spending. IT buyers, meanwhile, appear more willing to open up their budgets and spend on not just tech refreshes, but technology designed to make their businesses more competitive, like business analytics.
Citing an increase in IT spending across all sectors of its business and all global geographies, IBM announced record revenue and earnings for the first quarter that exceeded analyst projections.
After the close of trading on Monday, IBM (NYSE: IBM) reported a first-quarter profit of $2.6 billion, or $1.97 per share, a 13 percent improvement from the $2.3 billion, or $1.70 per share, from the same quarter last year. Revenue rose 5 percent year-over-year to $22.9 billion.