IBM rallies nearly 14%, heads for best day ever on strong earnings

The move put the stock on pace for its best day on record based on data going back as far as 1972.

The company reported adjusted earnings of $3.92 per share adjusted on $17.55 billion in revenue after the bell Wednesday. Analysts polled by LSEG had expected earnings to come in at $3.75 per share and revenues to reach $17.54 billion.

IBM reported a 1% rise in revenues overall, while its software unit grew 10% on a year-over-year basis amid growing demand for artificial intelligence and its operating system known as Red Hat Linux. CEO Arvind Krishna also said that the company posted $5 billion in bookings for its generative AI segment.

Shares of IBM have gained 18% since the start of the year.