IBM gets lift from software, AI demand as consulting slips

IBM beat analysts’ estimates for second-quarter revenue and raised its annual growth forecast for its software business on Wednesday, riding on higher AI-linked spending by clients looking to adopt the technology.

The company has focused on expanding its Watsonx platform that allows users to deploy chatbots or enhance code for AI programs, while also making its Granite family of AI models open-source to help popularize its AI services.

Big Blue’s shares rose about 3% in extended trading, set to add to their year-to-date gains of about 12% from a rally in stocks of AI-linked companies.