Technology giant IBM (IBM) has reported third-quarter financial results that beat Wall Street forecasts on the top and bottom lines.
For the quarter ended Sept. 30, IBM reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.20 U.S., which was ahead of the $2.12 U.S. forecast by analysts, according to FactSet data.
Revenue in Q3 totaled $14.75 billion U.S., up 4.6% from a year ago, and better than the $14.73 billion U.S. that was anticipated.
Company executives said that the strong quarterly results were driven by the success of their artificial intelligence (A.I.) strategy.
IBM has been making a big push into generative A.I., and customers are increasingly adopting the company’s “Watson X AI” platform.
IBM executives said they earned “low hundreds of millions of dollars” from generative A.I. projects in Q3, which suggests an annual run rate of about $1 billion U.S.
IBM’s Q3 results were also helped by growth in software, moderating expansion of the company’s consulting business, and a better-than-expected performance from the mainframe business.
The company reconfirmed its previous full-year guidance for revenue and cash flow growth.
IBM’s stock has gained 2% over the last 12 months and currently trades at $137.08 U.S. per share.
