10 Firms Lead Thursday’s Rally on Better Earnings, Bargain-Hunting

5. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM)

International Business Machines saw a 12.96-percent jump in its share prices on Thursday to end at $258.27 each as investors took heart from the company’s strong earnings performance last year coupled with an optimistic outlook for 2025.

In its latest earnings report, International Business Machines said revenues rose by 1 percent to $17.6 billion, with growth owed to a 10 percent growth in revenues from its software segment.

For the fourth quarter alone, earnings per share stood at $3.92, better than the $3.80 as projected by analysts.

For 2025, International Business Machines said it targets to grow its revenues by at least 5 percent and a free cash flow of $13.5 billion. The expansion rate would be above the 3 percent uptick logged in 2024, which analysts noted was a sign of IBM’s confidence in its AI and cloud strategy.