IBM reports strong quarterly earnings, full-year guidance

NEW YORK - International Business Machines (IBM) Tuesday reported its fourth-quarter earnings and full year 2019 guidance that both beat Wall Street's estimates.

The information technology magnate reported its fourth-quarter revenue of $21.76 billion, higher than the $21.71 billion expected by analysts.

Its fourth-quarter earnings per share, excluding certain items, hit $4.87, exceeding analysts' estimate of $4.82, according to global financial markets data provider Refinitiv.

Its segment of technology service and cloud platforms registered revenues of $8.9 billion, down 3 percent, and the second largest segment, global business services, registered revenues of $4.3 billion, up 4 percent.

For the full-year 2018, IBM generated 13.81 dollars in earnings per share, excluding certain items. Its revenue reached $79.6 billion, up 1 percent year-on-year. The strategic imperatives revenues stood at $39.8 billion, up 9 percent, while the cloud revenue hit $19.2 billion, up 12 percent.

IBM also posted its guidance for 2019. The company forecast its earnings per share to be $13.9, higher than market expectations.

Shares of IBM rose more than 6 percent in after-hours trading.