The Warren Effect: IBM's Financial Future

NEW YORK, January 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

The quick-to-adapt business model of conglomerate IBM will keep itself very profitable for years to come with a shift towards services over manufacturing and products.

Multinational technology and consulting company International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) [Full Research Report]⁽¹⁾ grabbed headlines and saw its share price soar in November last year after investment mogul Warren Buffett bought over $10 billion worth of stock, or 5.98 percent of IBM's ownership.

This alone demonstrates the intrinsic value of IBM, rooted in the fact that the company is earning on a consistent basis, and will continue to do so for a very long time. Its ability to quickly adapt to changes in market dynamics allows IBM to meet client demands as they evolve.

Their recent move towards being a services company away from a manufacturing and products-centric one has helped position them to where they are now and where they will be in the future. It was the right choice, considering the speed of change and innovation in business and technology. Instead of competing through building and delivering new products, IBM decided their services would set them apart.

For example, IBM not only develops cloud computing - one of their growth areas - but they also deliver cloud computing consulting services for cloud capabilities developed by other companies or organizations.

The shift started in early 1993, when newly installed then-chief executive Louis V. Gerstner Jr. put a much larger focus on services and started selling low-margin businesses, like the PC business that was later sold to Chinese firm Lenovo. Even with a new CEO in former EVP Virginia Rometty, this will likely continue, with a projected $20 per share earnings in four years.

Another factor would be the company's continuous pursuit for innovation and new research, as a report from International Business Times suggests. At least five IBM employees have won Nobel Prizes in the past for their innovations, including the scanning-tunneling microscope and superconductivity.

In addition, the company and their more than 8,000 inventors across the world lead the United States in a number of patents awarded by the US Patent Office for 20 straight years. Last year, IBM received a record 6,478 patents in analytics, cyber security, cloud computing, among others.

However, among a sea of praise, there is an emerging threat to IBM from smaller, more agile players emerging in the space. IBM must remain diligent in its commitment to innovation and set itself apart, leveraging its strong brand. In a time when everything is changing, it seems International Business Machines is ready and willing to change with the times. For more information, download our research report below.

Reference Links:

⁽¹⁾  The Full Research Report on International Business Machines - including full detailed breakdown, analyst ratings and price targets - is available to download free of charge at: [http://www.nationaltradersassociation.org/r/entire_report/14b1_IBM]

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