IBM To Report Solid Q4 on Overseas Sales

IBM pre-announced better-than-expected Q4 results this morning, turning the stock market north at least for the moment.

It said it’ll post a 24% rise in earnings on Thursday on revenues up 10% to $28.9 billion largely on sales in Asia, Europe and emerging countries not to mention currency benefits, which unfortunately has little to do with the state of US demand, which is what has the markets so exercised these days.

Analysts are waiting to see IBM’s guidance.

The company confessed in Q3 to feeling a pinch from the sub-prime mess its huge financial customers have gotten themselves in.

So far they only know that IBM figures it’s “on track to achieve our long-term earnings-per-share roadmap objective in 2010.”

IBM shares closed up roughly 5.4% to $102.93. It also reminded the investing public that it has $16 billion in the bank.