IBM Stock Shoots Higher On Q4 Performance: Revenue Beat, EPS Beat, AI Demand Accelerates

International Business Machines Corp IBM reported fourth-quarter financial results Wednesday after the bell. Here’s a look at the key metrics from the quarter.

Q4 Earnings: IBM said fourth-quarter revenue increased 4% year-over-year to $17.38 billion, which beat the consensus estimate of $17.3 billion, according to Benzinga Pro. The company noted that the continued adoption of hybrid cloud and AI offerings drove its strong revenue results.

Software revenue was up 3% year-over-year, consulting revenue was up 6%, and infrastructure revenue increased 3%. 

IBM reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $3.87 per share versus estimates of $3.78 per share.

Cash flow from operations totaled $4.5 billion in the fourth quarter. Free cash flow came in at $6.1 billion. IBM ended the quarter with $13.5 billion in cash and marketable securities, up $4.6 billion from year-end 2022.

“Client demand for AI is accelerating and our book of business for Watsonx and generative AI roughly doubled from the third to the fourth quarter,” said Arvind Krishna, chairman and CEO of IBM.

“Based on the strength of our portfolio and demonstrated track record of innovation, for 2024 we expect revenue performance in line with our mid-single digit model and about $12 billion in free cash flow.”

Management will hold a conference call to discuss these results at 5 p.m. ET.

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IBM Price Action: IBM shares were up 5.01% after hours at $182.64 at the time of writing, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: courtesy of IBM.