“Our results demonstrate that the combination of a steady base of recurring revenue and profits, investments for growth in emerging markets, a range of products and services that deliver value to clients, and a strong and flexible financial foundation, give IBM a competitive edge in good times and tough times,” CEO Sam Palmisano said in a statement. “We remain confident in our full-year outlook.”

In spite of Q3 sales that missed analysts’ estimates by about $1 billion. Anyway …

An anomalous bit of good news in an otherwise ghastly financial landscape. Seems IBM somehow managed to avoid that “sudden and unexpected drop in business activity” that slaughtered SAP earlier this week. Shares in IBM (IBM), which have dropped 21 percent in the past month alone, rose a bit on the news.