S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) will unveil its latest earnings today, October 17, 2011. IBM creates integrated solutions that leverage information technology and a deep knowledge of business processes for clients.

International Business Machines Corp. Earnings Preview Cheat Sheet

Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The average estimate of analysts is for profit of $3.22 per share, a rise of 14.2% from the company’s actual earnings for the same quarter a year ago. During the past three months, the average estimate has moved up from $3.18. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate moved up. It has been unchanged at $3.22 during the last month. Analysts are projecting profit to rise by 15.5% versus last year to $13.31.

Past Earnings Performance: Last quarter, the company beat estimates by 8 cents, coming in at net income of $3.09 a share versus the estimate of profit of $3.01 a share. It marked the fourth straight quarter of beating estimates.

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Wall St. Revenue Expectations: On average, analysts predict $26.27 billion in revenue this quarter, a rise of 8.2% from the year ago quarter. Analysts are forecasting total revenue of $107.69 billion for the year, a rise of 7.8% from last year’s revenue of $99.87 billion.

Analyst Ratings: 12 out of 20 analysts surveyed (60%) have a buy rating on International Business Machines.. This is below the mean analyst rating of 10 competitors, which average 62.6% buy ratings.

A Look Back: In the second quarter, profit rose 8.2% to $3.66 billion ($3 a share) from $3.39 billion ($2.61 a share) the year earlier, exceeding analyst expectations. Revenue rose 12.4% to $26.67 billion from $23.72 billion.

Key Stats:

The company has seen net income rise in three straight quarters. Net income rose 10.1% in the first quarter and 9.2% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year.

Revenue has risen the past four quarters. Revenue rose 7.7% in the first quarter from the year earlier, climbed 6.6% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year from the year-ago quarter and 3% in the third quarter of the last fiscal year.

Competitors to Watch: Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL), Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC), SAP AG (NYSE:SAP), and Sybase, Inc. (SY).

Stock Price Performance: During September 13, 2011 to October 14, 2011, the stock price had risen $27.10 (16.5%) from $163.43 to $190.53. The stock price saw one of its best stretches over the last year between September 9, 2011 and September 20, 2011 when shares rose for eight-straight days, rising 8.3% (+$13.35) over that span. It saw one of its worst periods between August 29, 2011 and September 6, 2011 when shares fell for six-straight days, falling 4.4% (-$7.51) over that span. Shares are up $43.77 (+29.82%) year to date.

(Source: Xignite Financials)

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