IBM's full-year earnings forecast greeted with skepticism

IBM Corp has given itself a tall order - a full-year profit target many analysts think it will have trouble meeting. Big Blue has made solid progress as it shifts into high-growth areas such as cloud-based services, and both profit and revenue beat analysts' expectations in the second quarter. In order to meet the target, IBM would need to turn in its best sequential improvement in profit in nine years in the fourth quarter, according to Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi.