IBM Corp first quarter results were absolutely fabulous, and we were being the most crabby, unsporting curmudgeons to find the merest smidgen of fault with them (see today’s Barbed Wire section). The shares set off for the stratosphere yesterday, jumping $11.375 to close at $153.75 on the results. The figures show that maintenance revenues for the quarter declined 8% to $1.6bn as big sites went dark or distributed, and revenue from rentals and financing improved 4% to $899m. Geographically North America led the way with revenues up 14% at $7.9bn. In the Europe-Middle EastAfrica segment, they predictably declined 7% to $5.3bn. In the Asia-Pacific region, business rose 3% to $3.4bn and in Latin America, which is beginning to show up on everyone’s chart, IBM increased its business by just 2% to $701m.
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