tech spending

IBM beat Wall Street expectations with its fourth-quarter earnings released Thursday, growing profit 9% and sales 7%. The company has gained from increased corporate spending on computer upgrades and on outsourcing.

The outlook for IT spending this year is looking up. Research firm Gartner said Thursday it expects revenue to grow 5.1% from 2010, an increase from a previous forecast of 3.5% growth.

In this uncertain market, investors are shying away from the usually risky techs, but that has left several promising companies with low valuations. Here's a look at some of the top names in tech that could offer a rare opportunity.

Investors are looking for a strong showing from the bellwether chipmaker, which would offer further evidence that U.S. companies -- and tech firms in particular -- are continuing to emerge from the recession. Analysts expect Intel to come through.

For the past few years, the Amazon Web Services unit, which allows other companies to rent the Web retailer's tech infrastructure, has been a major business with some big-name clients. Too bad nobody knows how much it earns, or how much Amazon spends on it. Why won't the online giant say?

Intel's fourth quarter profits handily beat Wall Street's expectations, suggesting the tech industry is on the leading edge of the U.S. economic recovery. The world's No. 1 chip-maker also forecast a strong first quarter of 2010.