I.B.M. delivered a mixed and somewhat unsettling quarterly performance

I.B.M. delivered a mixed and somewhat unsettling quarterly performance on Tuesday. Profits barely exceeded Wall Street's expectations, while revenue fell well below. The results, analysts said, were unlikely to reassure investors concerned about the global outlook for technology spending. In a conference call with analysts, Mark Loughridge, I.B.M.'s chief financial officer, said the revenue shortfall came from a slowdown in business, especially in September, in certain markets including the United States, where revenue fell 5 percent. "It was surprisingly disappointing," said A. M. Sacconaghi, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. "All the businesses were light." In after-hours trading, I.B.M. shares fell $7.10 a share, or 3.4 percent, to $203.90. In the regular session, the company's stock price rose 1 percent, or$2.07 a share, to close at $211.00 a share.I.B.M. Squeezes Out a Profit as Its Revenue Declines I.B.M. is the world's largest supplier of information technology - computer hardware, software and services -to corporations and governments. So the company's results are watched as a gauge oftechnology spending trends. But I.B.M., more than other computer companies in the corporate market, has steadily shifted its business in recent yearsto software and services. As a result, an estimated 40 percent of the company's revenue and 60 percent of its profits come from steady subscriptionlike businesses, mainly software license fees and services contracts. That means I.B.M. is more insulated from industry cycles than most other technologysuppliers. I.B.M. has also shed hardware businesses with low profit margins including personal computers and disk drives.