International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) has managed to accumulate more patents in the U.S. than any other company for the 21st straight year. This accomplishment was achieved thanks to the fact the company pushed itself into big-data services, which helped IBM gather large quantities of information within its reach. Samsung Electronics Co. ranked second, and Canon Inc. is situated on the third place.
International Business Machines Corp. announced in an official statement that it scored an annual record with its 6,809 patents acquired in 2013. The company has investors from more than 41 countries, and more than 31% of its patent came from overseas.
Currently, there is a sluggish demand for computer hardware, which is the reason why the revenue drops. At the same time, IBM stays more focused on some fast-growing areas such as cloud computing and analytics. Last week, it revealed that a separate division of its Watson tool is being formed.
The Vice President for innovation – Bernie Meyerson, said that the unit relies on recent patents. He told the journalists in an interview: “The work on cognitive is based on numerous of the patents that were just issued related to Watson. The new division is now a major commercial focus. By funding research in that area, you will fund patents in that area.” He also made it clear that the company intends to invest more than one billion dollars in the new division, which is planned to employ 2,000 people.
IBM Corp. is currently trying to get ahead in the cloud computing industry, which is considered to be the future, as the information is stored online instead of onsite. The company has been experiencing a drop in revenue compared to the past six reported quarters, even though it has been on top of the list with patents issued for more than 20 years now.
More than 6 billion dollars a year have been spent on research and development globally in the period between 2010 and 2012.
According to CNN Money, the current share price of International Business Machines Corp. is 0.98% up, and its one-year return rate is 0.09% up. The 22 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for International Business Machines Corp. have a median target of 190.00, with a high estimate of 235.00 and a low estimate of 160.00. The median estimate represents a +1.20% increase from the last price of 187.74.
TradingPedia.com is a financial media specialized in providing daily news and education covering Forex, equities and commodities. Our academies for traders cover 
