International Business Machines (IBM) delivered on free cash flow and Red Hat sales in Q1 for a “solid” start to the year despite trailing estimates on total revenue, RBC Capital Markets said Thursday in a report.
“The highlight from our perspective was the performance of our two focal metrics” with free cash flow of $1.9 billion topping RBC’s $1.7 billion estimate and Red Hat revenue in line with expectations, according to the report.
IBM on Wednesday reported Q1 adjusted earnings rose to $1.68 a share from $1.36 a year earlier, topping the Capital IQ consensus of $1.59. Revenue rose to $14.46 billion, trailing the consensus of $14.54 billion.
“The biggest negative surprise was around the consulting space where IBM’s resiliency relative to the broader market over the past year showed some signs of softening,” RBC said.
On Wednesday, IBM also agreed to buy multi-cloud infrastructure automation company HashiCorp (HCP) for $6.4 billion.
IBM’s management indicated it expects HashiCorp to have synergies with its Red Hat, watsonx, data security, IT automation and consulting businesses, the report said.
RBC maintained IBM’s outperform rating and the $200 price target.
IBM shares fell 1.3% in recent Friday trading.