International Business Machines Corp. doesn't plan to lockitself into another precise earnings forecast after ditching itslong-held goal for 2015 profit.

Chief Financial Officer Martin Schroeter said IBM is unlikely toput in place another “absolute” earnings-per-share (EPS) roadmap.He said there's still value in laying out the complex company'sstrategy for investors.

“We are going to have to be as transparent as we have been aboutthe business and what it can earn over time,” Schroeter said todayat an RBC Capital Markets investor conference. He added that thetechnology giant isn't looking for any big, transformativeacquisitions.

Last month, IBM Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty tossed outthe company's goal to reach $20 a share in adjusted earnings by2015 after sales dropped for a 10th straight quarter and demand forservers and other hardware dwindled. Rometty, who took over in2012, had been trying to transform IBM while adhering to thefive-year profit forecast laid out by her predecessor, SamPalmisano.

IBM is under pressure to manage through a shift in corporatespending that has been a drag on revenue. Technology customers areincreasingly moving data and software to the cloud, instead ofon-site servers, lessening the demand for IBM hardware and thesales and maintenance staff who support it. The company has said itexpects adjusted profit to fall this year for the first time since2002.

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