IBM makes modest revenue gain

IBM brought its fiscal 2011 year to a close with modest gains in both revenue and net income.

For the quarter that ended Dec. 31, IBM reported revenue of $29.5 billion, up 2 percent from the same quarter in the prior year. Net income was $5.5 billion, up 4 percent.

Emerging nations continue to provide growth for the company. Collectively, the revenue for Brazil, Russia, India and China increased 10 percent for the year. Americas' fourth-quarter enjoyed an increase in revenue of 3 percent from 2010, while Asia-Pacific revenue increased 2 percent.

For fiscal 2011, IBM reported revenue of $106.9 billion, up 7 percent from fiscal 2010. Net income was also up 7 percent, to $15.9 billion. Earnings per share (EPS) for the year were $13.06, a gain of 13 percent. Operating EPS was $13.44.

With these results, the company confirmed that it was still on track of its goal of reaching EPS of $20 in 2015.

However, IBM fell slightly short on analysts' expectations. Analysts estimated that the company would bring in $29.71 billion in revenue this quarter, with $5.6 billion in net income, according to a poll by Yahoo Finance. For the year, they estimated the company would bring in $107.12 billion in revenue and $13.37 billion in earnings.