Thursday was a good day on Wall Street, as investors were pleased to see many high-profile companies in the U.S. report positive earnings results. Geopolitical concerns also worked in the stock market's favor, with the U.K. and the European Union apparently agreeing to a deal that would allow Brexit to move forward on terms acceptable to both parties. However, some individual companies weren't able to share in the major becnhmarks' gains. IBM (NYSE: IBM), Extraction Oil & Gas (NASDAQ: XOG), and Syros Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SYRS) were among the worst performers. Here's why they did so poorly.
Shares of IBM fell 5.5% following the technology giant's release of third-quarter financial results. The company also known as Big Blue saw adjusted earnings per share slump 22% from year-earlier levels, but that number was actually better than many investors had expected. The disappointment came on the top line, where a 4% drop in revenue year over year fell short of what shareholders wanted to see. Contributions to growth from the recent acquisition of Red Hat haven't been as large as many had hoped, with revenue from the cloud and cognitive software segment rising just 8%. IBM will have to mount a more forceful recovery if it wants to regain the confidence of its investors, who appear to be losing patience with the length of time it's taken Big Blue to find a new strategic vision.
Image source: IBM.