IBM misses software growth guidance and cuts full-year range
IBM reported software growth of 5%, missing the guided double-digit pace, and cut its full-year software range to 6% to 8%. Infrastructure fell 7%, IBM Z revenue dropped 42%, and Transaction Processing software declined 9%, though management said about one-third of slipped deals closed within three weeks. IBM generated $4.8B free cash flow in the first half and reaffirmed full-year free cash flow growth of about $1B, with software increasingly recurring.