NEW YORK, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- IBM announced upbeat corporate performance for the fourth quarter (4Q) and the full year of 2018 after the U.S. stock market closed on Tuesday, beating market expectations and driving its shares up nearly seven percent.
The information technology magnate recorded earnings per share (EPS) of 4.87 U.S. dollars, exceeding analysts' estimate of 4.82 U.S. dollars, according to global financial markets data provider Refinitiv.
IBM also reported its quarterly revenue at 21.8 billion dollars, down three percent year on year yet beating market expectation of 21.71 billion dollars, the company said in the latest quarterly report.
The two figures are the most widely-accepted indicators for a company's profitability.
"In the quarter we expanded both gross margin and pre-tax income margin," said James Kavanaugh, IBM senior vice president and chief financial officer, in the report.
"In 2018 we repositioned our business model and delivered revenue, operating profit and EPS growth along with strong free cash flow realization," he added.
Among its five backbone business operations, only global business services posted growth in revenues for 4Q2018.
The segment reached 4.3 billion dollars for earnings, up four percent, with growth across all its three constituent parts, i.e. consulting, application management and global process services.
The IT giant also posted strong yearly earnings results in 2018. EPS for the year stands at 13.81 dollars, surpassing analysts' estimates. The annual revenue also rose one percent to 79.6 billion dollars.
IBM credited the notable progress to its broad application of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing.
"In 2018 we returned to full-year revenue growth, reflecting growing demand for our services and leadership solutions in hybrid cloud, AI, analytics and security," said Ginni Rometty, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer.
"Major clients worldwide, such as BNP Paribas, are turning to the IBM Cloud and our unmatched industry expertise to transform their businesses and drive innovation," the CEO said.
