IBM reports better-than-expected revenue growth in the second quarter

IBM has released its second quarter 2021 financial report. Revenue was $18.7 billion, a 3% increase over the same period last year, better-than-expected results.

The 3% increase compared to the same period last year is the largest growth rate in the past three years. This is being reported as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and economic activity, which has been stagnant in 2020, is expected to resume globally and growth will continue until the end of 2021.

In detail, the biggest growth was in the Cloud & Cognitive Software sector, which increased by 6% to $6.1 billion, and the Global Business Services sector, up 12% to $4.34 billion. Cloud & Cognitive Software was originally an AI application and provides business building services using AI and the Internet of Things. IBM Chief Financial Officer Jim Kavanaugh said customers are accelerating digital transformation with cloud and AI, gaining operational know-how and growth opportunities while increasing productivity.

In addition, an analyst at investor software firm FactSet estimated that global technology services sales would be $6.23 billion, but the actual figure was $6.34 billion, a little more than the forecast. The service is planned to be spin-off in 2021 and the new company name will be Kyndryl.

Meanwhile, the Systems division, including hardware and OS software, fell 7% year-on-year to USD 1.71 billion, and the Global Financing division also fell 8.6% to USD 242 million.

IBM has seen little growth in sales over the past few years, and reported a 34-quarter straight quarter of earnings decline until it grew 0.9% in the first quarter of 2021. For this reason, it is surprising that revenue growth over the first quarter was reported. Adjusted earnings per share are also estimated at $2.31. Related information can be found here.