In an era in which employers increasingly are having to shift more health-care costs onto employees, IBM (NYSE: IBM) is taking the unprecedented tack of opting to pick up all expenses related to primary care for U.S.-based employees, beginning next year. In doing so, IBM is is among the first U.S. companies to cover primary care at 100%, the Armonk, N.Y.-based computing giant said Thursday.

The move means employees will not be subject to co-pays or deductibles for in-network primary care with their internist, general or family practitioner, pediatrician or primary osteopath. IBM said it was able to boost coverage due to the company's success in implementing wellness programs, an effort begun five years ago.

Investors are a crazy lot. They pay huge premiums for stocks that do little but offer hollow promises and huge losses during bull markets. As long as sentiment is positive and the economy is growing, throwing caution to the wind comes easily.

Then, when things go boom and the market tanks, taking sentiment with it, investors put cash under their mattresses.

So here we are in the midst of the worst recession of my generation, and possibly the worst since the Great Depression, and the market is tanking. Almost every company in the country is seeing falling revenues and lower profits. Guidance is being reduced across the board. Not a day goes by without some company announcing job cuts. It's an absolute mess.

What then to do with that company that can fight this amazing downdraft and deliver performance that exceeds expectations?

In an efficient market, the buy side imbalance in the trading pits would be enormous. Investors would be banging down the doors to buy such a stock, and rightly so. To find a winner during an absolutely horrible operating environment is about as close to the holy grail as you can get.

Forget about paying premium valuations for companies filled only with promise. Give me shares of the business that excels during difficult times and I will die a happy man!

After the bell on Tuesday, IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced results that handily beat expectations. Big Blue delivered a profit of $4.4 billion or $3.28 per share. Analyst estimates were at $3.03 before the announcement. More importantly and impressively for investors is the announcement regarding guidance. IBM stated that they now expect 2009 profits of $9.20 per share compared to the average analyst estimate of $8.75.

Investors obviously did not see this coming. Fear had so clouded vision that shares of IBM had lost approximately $50 per share during the last year. On what basis did IBM justify a loss of such value?

Clearly there is none and astute investors who were able to buy IBM at the lows are now quite pleased they did. This company is firing on all cylinders at a time when most engines are failing.

Yes, the stock did rally hard on the news, but it has since given back some of the gains. IBM now trades around $90 per share.

Louis Navellier's PortfolioGrader Pro, which rates Wall Street stocks, rates IBM a B or Buy.

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Jamie Dlugosch is a contributor to InvestorPlace.com.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) outperformed earnings expectations in the fourth quarter, allaying analysts' concerns of a potential tech slowdown at least for now.

Before the market open, Big Blue said it would earn $2.80 per share, 20 cents better than analysts' expectations. IBM shares, down about 10% since the start of the year, rose $7.85 to $105.52 in early trading. Other tech stocks including Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) traded higher on the news.

Is the hoopla premature? Fears of a recession are quite real. Moreover, IBM Isn't like most tech companies. For one thing, the vast majority of its profits come from corporations and not individual consumers, and it also gets a huge amount of its revenue from outside the U.S. During the third quarter, revenue in the Americas rose 4% (3% adjusting for currency) to $10.2 billion while Europe/Middle East/Africa sales jumped 11% (4% when currencies are excluded) to $8.1 billion, and Asia-Pacific increased 9% (6% at constant currencies) to $4.9 billion.

The fourth quarter was more of the same. IBM's strength came from Asia, Europe and emerging markets, according to Chief Executive Sam Palmisano. The weak dollar may be giving IBM a huge boost as companies outside the U.S. may more inclined than domestic firms to buy IBM's hardware, software and services because they are pretty reasonably priced. Perhaps other tech companies such as Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) and Hewlett Packard Co. (NASDAQ: HPQ) will see similar benefits.

Tech stocks have been a basket case in the early days of 2008. In the next few days, investors will see whether IBM was a fluke or a hint of things to come.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) has weathered the storm about the SEC investigation into its first-quarter earnings disclosure pretty well. Shares of Big Blue have jumped 32 percent over the last six months, keeping pace with other tech heavyweights such as Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) (up 38 percent) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (NASDAQ:HPQ) (up 38 percent).

Bloomberg News reports The company said last January that it was facing a formal SEC investigation, which makes the stock performance all that more remarkable. Still, you can bet that the earnings call following the release of earnings on January 18 will be lively. I'm sure analysts will be interested to hear the company's thoughts on technology spending and any update on the investigation.

Wall Street is skeptical that IBM shares will go much higher. Their average target price is $99.67,about where the shares are trading today. Analysts are expecting the Armonk, NY-based company to have earnings of $2.19 on revenue of $25.66 billion, according to Thomson Financial.

IBM is a bellwether for both the tech sector and overall confidence in the economy. Since becoming the head of IBM in January 2003, Sam Palmisano wisely decided that IBM should focus on businesses. He got rid of the underperforming notebook computer division and acquired the consulting business of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC. Some critics of the company have claimed -- wrongly I think -- that IBM makes its hardware and software hard to use so that customers need to hire an IBM consultant to help them out.

Also check out some other earnings reports that we're following, and let us know your thoughts on earnings expectations.