IBM Discloses Details of 2009 Game Plan

At the close of trading Tuesday at $93.40, IBM shares are trading just below 11 times 2008 earnings -- even with the P/E ratio for competitor Hewlett-Packard(HPQ Quote).

In recent weeks, IBM has tried to soothe investors' worries over its guidance by releasing more detail on results and rolling out new equipment.

With the value of many contracts confidential, IBM has instead given them dimension by disclosing details on some big sales to banks and telcos signed late in the September quarter with Asian clients. One contract calls for IBM to build a cloud computing center for Vietnam Technology and Telecommunications.

And in late October, Amgen(AMGN Quote) signed a five-year, $500 million contract for information services.

Yet, a main driver of revenue growth across business lines over the coming year appears to be a new model of its System z10 mainframe, which just began shipping.

Aimed at mid-sized businesses, the z10 Business Class should give IBM's hardware group a needed shot in the arm.

Hurt by lower sales of x86 and storage servers, the company saw revenue in that business fall 9.5% year over year to $4.4 billion during the last quarter,

The high-end z10 was the impetus behind a just-announced contract with Finanz Informatik, which provides IT systems to German savings banks. The deal is valued at the "high-end of triple-digit millions" of euros, suggesting the contract could be worth upwards of $750 million. And it makes FI one of IBM's biggest z mainframe customers, according to Big Blue.