Chairman, President and CEO of IBM Arvind Krishna attends the 55th annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22, 2025.
Yves Herman | Reuters
IBM reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results on Wednesday and issued a forecast that slightly topped estimates.
Here how the company did compared to LSEG consensus estimates:
- Earnings per share: $4.52 adjusted vs. $4.32 expected
- Revenue: $19.69 billion vs. $19.23 billion expected.
Revenue rose 12% during the period from $17.6 billion a year earlier. Net income increased to $5.6 billion, or $5.88 per share, from $2.92 billion, or $3.09 per share, in the year-ago period.
IBM said it expects full-year revenue growth to exceed 5%, decelerating from 8% last year. Analysts expect sales growth of 4.6% in 2026, according to LSEG. Free cash flow should increase by $1 billion after reaching $14.7 billion in 2025, the company said.
CEO Arvind Krishna said in a release that the company’s generative artificial intelligence book of business hit more than $12.5 billion.
“This capped a strong 2025 for IBM where we exceeded expectations for revenue, profit and free cash flow,” Krishna wrote.
He also said the company is on pace to deliver its first large scale quantum computer by 2029 during an earnings call with analysts.
IBM said software revenue rose 14% to $9 billion in fourth quarter, benefitting from automation, data and Red Hat products. Infrastructure sales increased 21% to $5.1 billion, with 67% year-over-year growth in its IBM Z Systems line of mainframe computers.
The company’s board of directors approved a per-share dividend of $1.68, payable on March 10.
