P.M. BRIEFING : IBM Quarter Earnings Fall 29%
<i> From Times wire services </i>
ARMONK, N.Y. —
International Business Machines Corp. said today its third-quarter earnings dropped 29.7% to $877 million in what the computer giant termed a short-term lapse from its generally improved outlook.
Earnings per share dropped 28.1% from the third quarter a year ago to $1.51 from $2.10.
Revenue crept up 4.3% to $14.31 billion, below the first half of the year’s gain of better than 6%.
The company blamed new product changeovers and a switch among customers to leasing from buying for hurting results. The strength of the dollar has also hurt its revenues from abroad.
“While these short-term financial results are disappointing, demand for IBM products and services continues to be good worldwide,” IBM Chairman John Akers said in a statement.
