IBM up 10% as Profit Beats, Software Business Surges

IBM surpassed analysts' estimates for fourth-quarter profit Wednesday, driven by demand in its high-margin software unit as businesses ramped up IT spending, sending its shares soaring about 10% in extended trading. The company's software segment recorded its biggest revenue jump in five years, as customers prioritized spending on cloud infrastructure amid a rush to adopt the data-intensive generative artificial intelligence technology. IBM's AI Book of Business — a combination of bookings and actual sales across various products — stood at more than $5 billion inception-to-date, up about $2 billion from...