STILL GROWING: IBM's second-quarter earnings rose 6 percent from last year to $3.9 billion, or $3.34 per share. The results announced Wednesday marked the technology bellwether's 38th consecutive quarter of earnings growth.

THE WEAK LINK: Revenue dipped 3 percent during the April-to-June period to $25.8 billion, mostly because of the economic jitters in Europe. Sales in that region were sluggish, and the weakening currency on the continent translated into fewer U.S. dollars.

THE KEY: IBM Corp. has been focusing on its software and services divisions, which are more profitable than selling the mainframe computers that made the 101-year-old company famous.