IBM to Buy Back $15B of Stock

Company raises its profit forecast
By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 26, 2008 3:04 PM CST
IBM to Buy Back $15B of Stock
The IBM booth is shown at the National Retail Federation convention in New York in this January 15, 2008 file photo. Wall Street reversed earlier losses and rallied Tuesday after IBM approved a $15 billion stock buyback, suggesting to investors that there are still some companies out there with financial...   (Associated Press)

IBM will repurchase $15 billion of its own stock, it revealed today, leading the IT company to raise its profit forecast for the year to beat Wall Street predictions. The Armonk, NY-based computing giant will spend $12 billion on the buyback this year, the AP reports. The company told the Street that would help elevate its projected earnings-per-share for the year by five cents over previous estimates.

In January, IBM had predicted a 2008 profit per share between $8.20 and $8.30; in a survey, analysts put the profit at $8.22 per share. Today the company set $8.25 as the expected target for the year. In a prepared statement, CEO Sam Palmisano called the stock repurchases "one of the key elements of IBM's 2010 road map for earnings per-share growth," reports Marketwatch. (More IBM stories.)

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