IBM could be moving ahead of its own growth outlook due in large part to its push into the developing world, according to Barron's. Last year, International Business Machines outlined its plan to deliver earnings of at least $20 per share in 2015 based on revenue expansion, cost savings and stock buyback. It also is boosting sales growth to a range of 3 percent to 5 percent a year, Barron's wrote.
However, one source of income, US government spending, is waning. Still, in the long term, IBM's services are strong as more multinational corporations look to implement best practices, Barron's said. IBM's 2002 purchase of PwC helped it as a provider of those services, Barron's said.