IBM’s profit surge gives tech investors another big win

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The numbers keep getting better for tech investors.

IBM Corp. just reported first-quarter operating earnings of $2.32 billion, or $1.65 a share, up 26% from $1.84 billion, or $1.21 a share, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 11% to $24.5 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters Estimates had expected profit of $1.45 a share for the computer-services giant.

Chip leader Intel Corp. had boosted hopes for the tech sector’s first-quarter results with its profit report after markets closed Tuesday. That helped power a strong rally on Wall Street today that lifted the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index 2.8% to 2,350.11.

IBM, like Intel, sounded upbeat about the global economy -- exactly what nervous investors wanted to hear, especially in the wake of General Electric’s earnings bomb Friday.

‘We feel good about the rest of the year,’ said IBM CEO Samuel J. Palmisano. Check out the company’s report here.