IBM Outperforms Analyst Expectations in Q1 2024, but Projected Growth Rate Lags Behind Industry Forecasts

IBM reported its First Quarter 2024 Results, with key financial metrics showing positive growth. Revenue increased by 1.5% from the first quarter of 2023, reaching US$14.5 billion. Net income also saw a significant increase of 69% from the same period last year, totaling US$1.57 billion. The company’s profit margin improved to 11%, up from 6.6% in the first quarter of 2023, primarily due to lower expenses. Earnings per share (EPS) rose to US$1.72, compared to US$1.03 in the first quarter of 2023, exceeding analyst expectations by 32%.

In comparison to analyst estimates, IBM’s revenue aligned with expectations, while EPS exceeded forecasts by a considerable margin. Looking ahead, the company is projected to achieve an average annual revenue growth of just 3.9% over the next three years, which is significantly lower than a forecasted growth rate of 9.3% for the IT industry in the United States as a whole.

The performance of the American IT industry has influenced IBM’s shares, which have decreased by a sharp 6.9% over the past week due to recent market trends and changes in consumer behavior towards cloud services and data analytics solutions providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure among others that have impacted IBM’s position in this industry segment negatively affecting their stock prices