IBM pops up 3% after beating Wall Street expectations on earnings, marking the third straight quarter of growth after years of decline

Investors were slow to react Wednesday after IBM reported a beat on earnings, marking its third quarter of growth after years of decline.

The stock was up by 3% at 4:30 PM PT Wednesday, but it took a few hours to get there after IBM’s second quarter earnings, which beat Wall Street’s expectations on both revenues and earnings per share.

Here’s what the company reported:

• Revenues (GAAP) for the quarter were $US20 billion, up 4% from the year before. Analysts expected $US19.88 billion.
• Earnings per share for the quarter (adjusted)were $US3.08. Analysts expected $US3.04.
• Cloud revenues for the quarter were $US4.7 billion. Over the past 12 months, cloud revenues grew 23% to a toal of $US18.5 billion.
• Strategic imperatives revenues for the quarter were $US10.1 billion. Over the past 12 months, strategic imperatives brought in $US39 billion, up 15% from the year before.

Analysts expect revenue (GAAP) for Q3 to hit $US19.29 billion, and earnings per share (adjusted) for Q3 of $US3.42.

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