IBM Earnings Targets at Risk, Analysts Say

IBM Corp.’s second-quarter earnings targets may be at risk because of dismal tech spending, analysts said after the company announced a restructuring charge of up to $2.5 billion.

If IBM doesn’t come up with major gains to offset that $2-billion to $2.5-billion charge--the majority of which the company will take in the second quarter--it may post a net loss, Big Blue’s first since its massive restructuring in the early 1990s.

Shares closed up $1.24 to $80.55 on the New York Stock Exchange.