Because of the strong quarterly earnings, IBM also beat full-year estimates, posting $13.59 in earnings per share. "More and more clients are choosing the IBM Cloud because of its differentiated capabilities, which are helping to transform industries, such as financial services, airlines and retail," Rometty added. Another possible reason could be the impact that one-time gains are having on keeping IBM posting earnings beats. On a call with analysts after the earnings, IBM chief financial officer Martin Schroeter said the company had reached a margin "inflection point" in 2016. If IBM did that, its strategic imperatives could become the majority of the company's business for the first time.

Source: Forbes January 19, 2017 21:50 UTC