IBM's Growth Pace Slowed by Consulting Division

The latest business figures from technology giant IBM have not met market observers' expectations. Despite a revenue increase of one percent to approximately $14.5 billion in the past quarter compared to the previous year, the company's consulting business seems to have tempered the pace of growth in particular. After-hours investors expressed disappointment, leading to a temporary nearly nine percent drop in the stock price. Nevertheless, there is also positive news to report, as IBM's net income could be significantly increased: It amounted to $1.6 billion, thereby being considerably higher than the profit of $934 million in the same period of the previous year. In a strategic move, during the presentation of its quarterly results, IBM also announced the planned acquisition of the company HashiCorp. Specializing in assisting other companies in managing their cloud computing activities, this acquisition, valued at $6.4 billion, highlights IBM's expansive focus towards cloud services and the intent to bolster existing resources in this domain.