IBM plays down earnings miss as part of evolution

IBM's top executive on Tuesday played down an earnings miss that hammered the technology old-timer's shares, saying the company is evolving to thrive in a new age.

 "Those results show a lot of progress and a lot of work to be done," IBM chief executive Virginia Rometty said during an on-stage chat at a WSJD Live technology conference in California.

 "We are 104 years old; the reason we are the only company still here is because we have transformed."

 IBM shares were down more than five percent to $140.83 in mid-afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

 Rometty said that IBM is focusing on cloud services, mobility, and data analytics, with its Jeopardy television game show winning Watson artificial intelligence poised to differentiate the company from competitors.

 IBM reported a profit of $2.95 billion but revenues tumbled a disappointing 14 percent from a year ago, the 14th consecutive decline in revenue.

 While IBM earnings overall disappointed the market, Rometty pointed out that revenue in each of those categories at the company leapt.

 "It is the right decision for the long term," Rometty said.

 "We are a $90 billion company transforming. We are completely changing the portfolio and we are doing it in public."