IBM Ends 22-Quarter Streak of Falling Revenue
In a statement, Ms. Rometty noted the strong growth in the new businesses, which IBM collectively calls “strategic imperatives”
and now represent 46 percent of the company’s revenue.
Like other large international corporations, IBM has kept some of its global profits
off its domestic books to avoid the previous 35 percent federal corporate tax rate.
Under the new tax law, companies get a one-time repatriation of those profits at tax rates ranging from 8 percent to 15.5 percent.
IBM reported revenue of $22.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017, surpassing the
average estimate of analysts of $22.05 billion, as compiled by Thomson Reuters.
IBM reported revenue growth for the first time in five and a half years on Thursday, ending a streak of 22 consecutive quarters of shrinking sales.
But the company’s fourth-quarter report is an encouraging sign
that IBM’s financial performance is stabilizing, and perhaps the transformation effort led by Virginia M. Rometty, the chief executive, is gaining ground.
