IBM’s Profit Declines 48.2%

International Business Machines Corp. said today that its profit fell 48.2% in the fourth quarter, a decrease that led to the first pair of annual earnings declines for IBM since the Depression.

Although analysts had expected a sharp decline in profit, the fall was greater than all but a few had predicted for the world’s largest computer company. IBM earned $1.39 billion, or $2.28 a share, down from $2.68 billion, or $4.36 a share, in the year-earlier quarter.