IBM feathers pillow with System z cash – but still losing sleep after 12 quarters of decline

IBM weathered a tough first three months of its fiscal 2015, reporting its twelfth successive quarter of year-on-year revenue declines. As has become a common refrain among tech execs, Big Blue CFO Martin Schroeter blamed some of the company's woes on unfavorable foreign exchange rates. But even correcting for currency …

[Morten Bjoernsvik]

Earnings per share is bloated due to large buybacks

<quote>

IBM managed to surprise the analysts, though, but posting earnings of $2.91 per diluted share, which was better than they'd hoped for.

</quote>

IBM used ~$14Bill on stock buybacks in 2014 the same in 2013. it is now less than 1Bill stocks outstanding. Lowest since 2007. But they eat up their cash reserve and totalt value of the company is falling. Not a very good sign in the end the coffin will be empty and turnover close to zero but the EPS will still be above Analysts estimate.

That money should have been invested into research and development.

[boba1l0s2k9]

Re: Earnings per share is bloated due to large buybacks

Yeah with only $2.3bn in net income they're practically circling the drain.

[Anonymous Coward]

Amazing

Due to the big re-org, most of the sales folk didn't have sales plans finalized for most of Q1. No sales plan, no focus on sales by the reps. Surprised Big Blue went as good as it did in Q1...