Stocks End Lower, IBM Earnings Miss Estimates

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday after data showed signs of slower growth ahead for the U.S. economy. The Dow  Jones industrial average slid 81.45 points, or 0.56 percent, to end at 14,537.14. The Standard & Poor’s 500  Index dropped 10.40 points, or 0.67 percent, to finish at 1,541.61. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 38.31  points, or 1.20 percent, to close at 3,166.36.

International Business Machines Corp. reported a 3% rise in first-quarter operating earnings on Thursday  afternoon, despite a drop in revenue for the period, missing Wall Street’s estimates. For the period ended  March 31, IBM posted net income of $3 billion, or $2.70 per share, compared to net income of $3.8 billion, or  $2.61 per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted operating earnings came in at $3.4 billion, or $3  per share, for the recent period. Revenue slipped 5% to $23.4 billion.

Microsoft Corp. on Thursday reported a fiscal third-quarter profit of $6.06 billion, or 72 cents a share, on  revenue of $20.5 billion, compared with earnings of $5.1 billion, or 61 cents a share, on $17.4 billion in  sales in the year-ago period. Separately, Microsoft said Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein will leave the  company at the end of its current fiscal year.

Google Inc reported consolidated first quarter revenue, including its Motorola Mobility business, of $13.97  billion, up 31 percent from the year-ago period. It earned $3.35 billion in net income, or $9.94 per share,  in the first three months of the year, versus $2.89 billion, or $8.75 per share, in the first quarter of
2012.