IBM Reports 8% Revenue Growth in the First Quarter

International Business Machines Corp reported higher-than-expected revenue growth of 8% in the first quarter due to the continued momentum of the hybrid cloud platform, a key focus of technology company transformation.

Revenues increased from $13.19 billion last year to $14.2 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations of $13.78 billion, according to FactSet. The results were boosted by a 14% increase in revenue from hybrid clouds, including public clouds, private clouds, and as-a-service properties.

The company currently expects mid-single-digit growth this year at the high-end of its mid-single-digit forecast in constant currency. Incremental sales to Kyndryl Holdings Inc, an IT services business that IBM spun off last year, are expected to increase by 3.5% points to 2022 sales.

As a pioneer in information technology, IBM is rebuilding itself around AI and the hybrid cloud. It benefits from increased remote work during a pandemic and other changes in IT workloads. In 2021, IBM acquired 15 companies to enhance hybrid cloud and AI capabilities.