IBM quarterly results top estimates

(Reuters) - International Business Machines Corp on Wednesday reported second-quarter profit and revenue that topped analysts' expectations as it benefited from growth in higher-margin businesses including cybersecurity and cloud computing.

Investors are focusing on what the company calls "strategic imperatives" - high growth businesses spread across its various divisions - to offset weakness in its legacy hardware and software units.

That batch of newer businesses, which include data analytics, cybersecurity and a handful of others, grew 15 percent to $10.1 billion, together making up just over half of IBM's total revenue.

Revenue has now risen for three consecutive quarters and overall was up nearly 4 percent to $20 billion, beating analysts' average estimate of $19.85 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net income rose to $2.4 billion, or $2.61 per share, in the quarter ended June 30 from $2.33 billion, or $2.48 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, IBM earned $3.08 per share, beating analysts' average expectation of $3.04 per share.

Shares of the Armonk, New York-based company rose about 1 percent to $145.74 in trading after the bell.

(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)