(CercleFinance.com) – IBM soars to ten-year highs Thursday morning on the New York Stock Exchange, after revealing solid quarterly results and much better prospects than expected.
Around 11:00 a.m., the action of the American IT group jumped more than 12%, signing by far the strongest increase on the Dow Jones and getting closer to its historical records reached at the beginning of 2013.
IBM unveiled last night operating net income (non-GAAP) up 9% to $3.6 billion for the fourth quarter of 2023, or $3.87 per share (+8%).
The digital services giant’s turnover increased by 4% to $17.4 billion in published data, and by 3% at constant exchange rates, growth driven in particular by the consulting segment (+5%). .
“Customer demand for AI is accelerating and our book of business for Watsonx and generative AI practically doubled between the third and fourth quarters,” highlights its CEO Arvind Krishna.
Following this strong performance, the company has set a goal of generating free cash flow (FCF) of approximately $12 billion in 2024.
‘This is much higher than our previous forecast, which targeted between 11 and 11.5 billion dollars,’ Bank of America analysts reacted this morning.
In a research note, BofA now says it expects two years of strong growth for ‘Big Blue’, with free cash flow expected at $13 billion in 2025.
The financial intermediary reiterates its purchase advice on the stock, with a price target raised from 170 to 200 dollars, welcoming the continuation of the successful ‘recovery’ of the group, its defensive portfolio of activities, its dividend yield attractive as well as his underrated expertise in AI.
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