International Business Machines Corp. gave a forecast for annual revenue in line with analysts’ projections, delivering a cautiously optimistic signal about technology spending in an uncertain economy.

Sales will increase from 3 per cent to 5 per cent in 2023, the company said Wednesday in a statement, meeting analysts’ estimates. The company affirmed a previous free cash flow forecast of US$10.5 billion for the year.

IBM reported first-quarter revenue of US$14.3 billion, little changed from the period a year earlier and slightly below analysts’ average estimate. Profit, excluding some items, was US$1.36 a share in the quarter ended March 31. Analysts projected US$1.25 a share, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“We’re seeing some softening going into the end of the first half,” Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna said in an interview. “Then I do think that growth will get a bit better near the end of the year.”

Shares gained about 2 per cent in extended trading after closing at US$126.32 in New York. The stock declined 10 per cent this year through Wednesday while many other tech names have rallied.

Krishna has worked to reorient the century-old company around higher margin services like hybrid cloud computing. Software sales in the quarter increased 2.6 per cent to US$5.9 billion, although growth at the Red Hat unit was 8 per cent — the smallest increase since the business was acquired by IBM in 2019 for about US$33 billion. Krishna said a new normal range for Red Hat is closer to 11 per cent-13 per cent growth.

Consulting sales gained 2.8 per cent to US$5 billion, but the pace of such deals slowed in the Americas region and may spread elsewhere, Krishna said. Customers aren’t yet canceling projects, just delaying them, he said.

The Armonk, New York-based company topped profit estimates in part due to expense management and productivity measures taken earlier in the year, Krishna said. Job cuts may be closer to 5,000 once finished, rather than the previously announced 3,900, he said. Still, IBM hired 7,000 people in the first quarter, he added.

Divestitures have been a core part of IBM’s transformation plan, including recent spinoffs of Kyndryl Holdings Inc. and part of the Watson Health business. It is currently considering selling its weather unit.

Separately, GlobalFoundries Inc., which took over IBM’s semiconductor business in 2015, sued Wednesday, alleging that IBM continued to monetize intellectual property from that business unit after the completion of the deal.