IBM Profits Beat Expectations BUT Tanks 3% After Hours

Apple was not the only big 'tech' company announcing its earnings last night. IBM too announced its earnings. And since I had just blogged Apple Tanks 5% In After Hours Trading After 'Record Sales', I was interested to read what the main media was saying on IBM.

On CNBC: IBM Profit Grows, Tops Wall Street Expectations

• IBM reported a higher-than-expected profit and raised its outlook for the full year, helped by sales of new hardware products, but its shares retreated on sluggish sales of technology services.
  
  The technology giant said it earned $2.82 a share in the third quarter, against $2.40 a share in the same period last year.
  
  Revenue for the quarter was reported at $24.27 billion, versus $23.56 billion last year.
  
  Equity analysts who follow IBM expected the company to turn in a profit of $2.75 a share on sales of $24.13 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.
  
  The company said it expects earnings of "at least $11.40 per share" for the full year, up from its previous forecast of "at least $11.25."
  
  Shares of IBM fell more than 3 percent in extended trading Monday....

LOL!

From finviz.com website: http://finviz.com/quote.ashx?t=ibm

Scroll to the bottom of that page and you will see the .... exercise of options and the selling.

Let's check out...

KERN R. FRANKLIN III, a senior VP, transactions: http://finviz.com/insidertrading.ashx?oc=1430470&tc=7. Check out the cost of the options. Some had zero cost?

Adkins Rodney C, a senior VP too, transactions: http://finviz.com/insidertrading.ashx?oc=1400395&tc=7. Check out the cost of options too!

And so on....

Continued from the CNBC article..

• "This was a very strong performance overall with earnings above estimates and good revenue as well," said Edward Jones analyst Andy Miedler. "For them to continue to again raise guidance for 2010 and continue to perform well overall means they're a company to invest in."