International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed estimates. The company reaffirmed 2019 guidance, but was below consensus estimates.
The conglomerate, out of Armonk, New York, said GAAP Earnings per Share from continuing operations came in at $1.87
Net cash from operating activities totaled $15.4 billion and free cash flow proved $12.3 billion, over the last 12 months
IBM also touted reducing its debt by $6.7 billion since the end of second quarter. Revenue was $18.0 billion, down 3.9% (down 0.6% adjusting for divested businesses and currency).
IBM ended the third quarter with $11.0 billion of cash on hand. Debt, including Global Financing debt of $23.1 billion, totaled $66.3 billion – down $6.7 billion since the end of the second quarter.
For the full-year, the company expects GAAP EPS of at least $10.58; maintains operating (non-GAAP) EPS of at least $12.8 billion, besides maintaining free cash flow of approximately $12 billion
CEO Ginni Rometty declared, "In the third quarter, as we continued to help clients with their digital reinventions, we grew revenue in our Cloud & Cognitive Software segment and in Global Business Services.
"Our results demonstrate that clients see IBM and Red Hat as a powerful combination and they trust us to provide them with the open hybrid cloud technology, innovation and industry expertise to help them shift their mission-critical workloads to the cloud."
Shares in IBM opened Thursday trading down $7.45, or 5.2%, to $134.66.
