IBM released its first-quarter financial results for 2025, showcasing an increase in both revenue and profitability, driven largely by their Software offerings. "We exceeded expectations for revenue, profitability and free cash flow in the quarter, led by strength across our Software portfolio," stated Arvind Krishna, IBM chairman, president, and CEO. Reports indicated IBM's strong performance in the generative AI sector, as their book of business reaches over $6 billion, showing growth of more than $1 billion during the quarter.

The total revenue for the first quarter was $14.5 billion, reflecting a 2 percent increase at constant currency. This was mainly due to a 7 percent rise in Software revenue, climbing to $6.3 billion, while Consulting and Infrastructure revenues experienced declines. James Kavanaugh, IBM's senior vice president and CFO, highlighted the increase in gross profit margin and operating leverage as key outcomes of their strategy to focus on core business fundamentals.

The results showed IBM's Net cash from operating activities was $4.4 billion, with a free cash flow of $2.0 billion. First-quarter shareholder dividends totaled $1.5 billion, while the company invested $7.1 billion in acquisitions, including the purchase of HashiCorp. "With our focus on the fundamentals of our business, we continue to maintain a strong liquidity position and yield solid free cash flow. This enables us to both invest in our business and return value to shareholders through dividends," Kavanaugh added.

IBM's segment revenue analysis provided detailed insights: the Software sector, stressed by the growth of their Hybrid Cloud and Automation products, saw a rise; Consulting, including Strategy and Technology, showed a slight downturn; and Infrastructure reflected a decline due to falling revenues in Hybrid Infrastructure and IBM Z.

The forecast for the year remained optimistic with IBM anticipating constant currency revenue growth of at least 5 percent. They expect second-quarter revenue to reach between $16.40 billion and $16.75 billion, while projecting an annual free cash flow of approximately $13.5 billion.

Despite these optimistic projections, IBM issued cautionary statements regarding the volatile macroeconomic environment, highlighting certain risks including global economic downturn, challenges in innovation, and potential issues in managing acquisitions.

Forward-looking and cautionary statements: IBM addressed potential areas of concern, recognizing factors such as potential downturns in economic conditions, challenges in innovation, and impacts of environmental concerns among others that might affect future results. They reiterated that any forward-looking statements are speculative and not guaranteed.

The company's information presentation emphasized their efforts to supply investors with detailed analytics using both GAAP and non-GAAP measures, believed by management to convey a more comprehensive financial picture.