IBM, Intel Results Reflect the Sluggish Economy

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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Analysts continue to sift through the earnings reports from International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC). Each released relatively weak results for the most recent quarter. The fates of their share prices probably were spared because the numbers “beat expectations.”

But that does not tell what the actual states of the information technology or PC businesses are. The data from the two companies would tend to indicate that the economic slowdown has hit consumer and enterprise buyers alike. If so, the step toward a recession and the fiscal cliff have become more widespread than many analysts expect. A person will not buy a $500 PC and a company will not use IBM consulting services. The effects of the economy could hardly be broader than that.

IBM management did admit that its sales problems were not isolated. The Wall Street Journal reports:

“We did start off the first two months of the quarter on a stronger trajectory than we saw for the full quarter,” Chief Financial Officer Mark Loughridge said, noting a “handful of deals” in the software business “fell out of the quarter” and into the current period.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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