<p>When International Business Machines reports third-quarter earnings after the bell Wednesday, investors will be looking to see whether the company's business model is stabilizing or continuing to deteriorate.</p><p>IBM faces new competitors who rent computing power and software over the Internet, and has to find new sources of revenue as growth in some key emerging markets slows.</p><p>After meeting Wall Street's profit expectations for 31 straight quarters dating back to early 2005, Big Blue missed in the first quarter of 2013. It has reported revenue declines in its last five quarters, according to Sanford Bernstein. In the second quarter, some analysts credited a significant tax gain with helping IBM to beat profit estimates.</p><p>This quarter, Wall Street expects revenue to be flat at $24.75 billion and per-share earnings to grow 9.3% to $3.96. IBM's conference call is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET. Here are key points to look for in the report:</p><p><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/10/16/ibm-earnings-what-to-watch/">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://investorplace.com/2013/10/ibm-earnings-call-spread/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+InvestorPlace+(InvestorPlace)">IBM Earnings Could Provide a Little Push</a> (Investorplace.com)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dnUS8Hxnr-bbBhMHVFWqybtsdbcQM&ned=us">3 additional articles.</a></p>