By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com - IBM (NYSE:IBM) on Monday reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that topped consensus expectations as strong demand for cloud services underpinned performance.
IBM shares gained 6.4% in after-hours trading following the report.
The company announced earnings per share of $2.18 on revenue of $18.12B. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of $2.08 on revenue of $17.42B.
The Armonk, New York-based technology services giant's beat on both the top and bottom lines was helped by a boost from Linux maker Red Hat, which was acquired last year in an effort to bolster the company's cloud offering.
Total cloud revenue jumped 30% to $6.3 billion for the quarter on-year.
The cloud & cognitive software division grew revenue 3% to $5.7 billion, with growth in cloud & data platforms rising 29%, led by Red Hat, where revenue was up 17% for the quarter.
Global technology services, which includes infrastructure & cloud services and technology support services, saw revenue fall 8% to $6.3 billion.
Global business services revenue slipped 7% to $3.9 billion, driven by declines in application management and consulting.
IBM shares are up 49% from the beginning of the year, still down 20% from its 52-week high of $158.75 set on February 6. They are outperforming the S&P 500 which is up 0.66% from the start of the year.
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