Factors Expected to Influence IBM This Earnings Season

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International Business Machines (IBM - Free Report) is set to report first-quarter fiscal 2019 results on Apr 16. Notably, the company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters with average beat of 1.39%.

In the last reported quarter, the company delivered non-GAAP earnings of $4.87 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.81 per share. However, earnings per share (EPS) decreased 5.9% from the year-ago quarter. The year-over-year decline in EPS can be attributed to higher tax rate.

Revenues of $21.76 billion were almost in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $21.74 billion. However, the figure declined 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. At constant currency (cc), revenues dipped 1%. The year-over-year decline can primarily be attributed to currency fluctuation and headwinds from IBM Z product cycle.

Guidance & Estimates

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter is pegged at $18.65 billion, down roughly 2.2% from the year-ago quarter. Further, the consensus mark for earnings is pegged at $2.22 per share, indicating year-over-year decline of 9.4%.

IBM expects non-GAAP EPS forecast for 2019 to be at least $13.90. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $13.91 per share, up marginally 7% year over year.

Let’s see how things are shaping up prior to this announcement.

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