IBM Snaps Back in 1st Quarter

International Business Machines Corp. today reported strong first-quarter earnings on sharply higher revenue, which analysts called an important signal that the world’s largest computer company is snapping back after a disappointing slump.

IBM said earnings for the three months ended March 31 totaled $913 million, or $1.53 a share, up from $785 million, or $1.30 a share, a year earlier. Revenue totaled $11.75 billion, a 10% increase over 1987 first-quarter revenue of $10.68 billion. A computer analyst at Drexel Burnham Lambert called it “a better revenue gain than anybody was expecting.”