“And now we see an inflection in growth going forward, with fourth-quarter revenue performance similar to our third-quarter growth.”

In context

“contract, which is growing in the mid-teens. As we wrap an elevated growth in consumption-based services last year, we expect double-digit revenue growth in the fourth quarter, with an accelerated growth profile heading into 2026. While transaction processing was down 1% year to date, as clients prioritize spend on our high-value innovation z17, the strength of the new cycle provides future monetization value across the z stack. We are seeing this strength in our pipeline as we enter the fourth quarter, which we expect will return to growth. With continued strength in z17, we now expect infrastructure to contribute over 1.5 points to IBM's revenue growth this year. In consulting, we are encouraged by our return to growth this quarter and continued progress in our Gen AI book of business. And now we see an inflection in growth going forward, with fourth-quarter revenue performance similar to our third-quarter growth. Now turning to profitability. We started this year expecting over 50 basis points of operating pretax margin expansion, and through the first nine months of this year, we delivered 130 basis points of expansion, well ahead of our expectations. This performance is driven by our revenue scale, portfolio mix, and progress with productivity initiatives, enabling operating leverage while providing investment flexibility. We are raising IBM's full-year operating pretax margin expansion to over a point, and our operating tax rate expectation for the year remains in the mid-teens. For the fourth quarter, we are comfortable with consensus estimates for constant currency revenue growth and profitability. Let me conclude by saying we are pleased with our continued disciplined execution and look forw”