IBM has announced its fourth-quarter earnings for 2024, reporting a slight increase in revenue and notable growth in its software sector. Arvind Krishna, IBM's chairman, president, and CEO, stated, "We closed the year with double-digit revenue growth in Software for the quarter, led by further acceleration in Red Hat. Clients globally continue to turn to IBM to transform with AI."
The company's fourth-quarter revenue reached $17.6 billion, marking a 1% increase overall and a 2% rise at constant currency. Software revenue rose by 10%, while consulting and infrastructure revenues declined by 2% and 8%, respectively.
James Kavanaugh, IBM's senior vice president and CFO, commented on the company's performance: "With strong performance across our Software portfolio, we continue to drive solid fundamentals within our business." He noted that the company generated $12.7 billion in free cash flow.
In terms of segment results for the fourth quarter, software revenues were reported at $7.9 billion with hybrid platform solutions seeing an 11% increase. Consulting revenues stood at $5.2 billion with technology consulting down by 7%. Infrastructure revenues totaled $4.3 billion.
IBM's full-year revenue was reported at $62.8 billion with software showing an 8% rise and infrastructure declining by 4%. The gross profit margin saw improvements both under GAAP and non-GAAP measures.
Looking ahead to 2025, IBM expects a minimum of 5% growth in constant currency revenue for the year and anticipates approximately $13.5 billion in free cash flow.
The company will host its regular quarterly earnings conference call today at 5:00 p.m. ET.
