IBM (NYSE:IBM) released its latest earnings report after closing bell tonight. On a non-GAAP basis, IBM Q4 2017 earnings came in at $5.18 per share, while revenue amounted to $22.54 billion. Analysts had been expecting earnings of $5.17 per share on $22.5 billion in revenue. In the same quarter a year ago, the company reported $21.77 billion in revenue.
IBM Q4 2017 earnings
On a GAAP basis, IBM posted a loss of $1.14 per share, compared to the $4.72 per share in earnings it reported a year earlier. The GAAP result includes a one-time charge of $5.5 billion in connection with the tax reform bill. The charge includes re-measurement of deferred tax assets and liabilities and a tax on profits overseas.
“Our strategic imperatives revenue again grew at a double-digit rate and now represents 46% of our total revenue, and we are pleased with our overall revenue growth in the quarter,” Chairman, President and CEO Ginni Rometty said in a statement on the IBM Q4 2017 earnings results. “During 2017, we strengthened our position as the leading enterprise cloud provider and established IBM as the blockchain leader for business. Looking ahead, we are uniquely positioned to help clients use data and AI to build smarter businesses.”
IBM swings to revenue growth
IBM’s total revenues declined for 22 quarters in a row, according to CNBC, but in the fourth quarter of 2017, that streak ended with the first quarter of year-over-year revenue growth in years.
The company’s cloud revenues grew 30% in the fourth quarter to reach $5.5 billion, while cloud revenues in the last 12 months was $17 billion, including $9.3 billion in as-a-service revenue and $7.8 billion for hardware, software and services. IBM’s as-a-service run rate for the year rose to $10.3 billion from $8.6 billion at the end of 2016. Analytics revenues grew 9%, while mobile revenues increased 23%. Securities revenue grew 132%.
Strategic imperatives revenue grew 17% year over year to $11.1 billion in the fourth quarter. Cognitive solutions revenues rose to $5.4 billion. Global business services revenues ticked slightly higher to $4.15 billion, while technology services and cloud platforms revenue slipped slightly to $9.2 billion from $9.3 billion a year ago. Systems revenue rose to $3.3 billion, while global financing revenue rose to $450 million.
Following the release of the IBM Q4 2017 earnings results, the company’s stock tumbled by about 4%, falling as low as $162.02 in after-hours trading.