IBM Adds $5 Billion To Its Share Buyback Program And Says It Will Ask For More Buybacks In The Spring
In its quarterly earnings, announced early last week, the company said it was planning to request an additional repurchase authorization.
And on Tuesday the company said that at its April board meeting, it expects to request an additional share repurchase authorization.
In a statement Tuesday, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty said, "We will continue to make the investments and changes necessary to manage our business for the long term and to shift to higher-value offerings. At the same time we remain fully committed to returning significant value to shareholders."
IBM spent $13.5 billion to repurchase stock in the first nine months of the year, more than double its net income.
The company has been criticized for pursuing buybacks at the expense of investment in new technology, including by hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller.
Back in July, Druckenmiller called IBM's penchant for engaging in financial engineering rather than investing in its business made it the "poster child" for some of the corporate behavior that companies have engaged in since the financial crisis.
And in its quarterly earnings report, IBM didn't make it seem like things would get too much better.
In its earnings announcement, Rometty said, "We saw a marked slowdown in September in client buying behavior, and our results also point to the unprecedented pace of change in our industry."
In the third quarter, IBM's revenue fell 4%.
IBM shares fell about 7% after the company's earnings disappointed, and year-to-date, shares of the Dow member are down more than 13%.
(Writing from Reuters by Anya George Tharakan; Editing by Tresa Sherin Morera)