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AT&T is expected to report substantially higher fourth-quarter earnings despite slightly lower revenue, due to wireless sector gains.

The top after-market NYSE gainers Tuesday were New York Times, International Business Machines, LDK Solar Co, MGIC Investment and Berry Plastics Group Inc, while the top after-market NYSE losers were STR Holdings, Annies, WESCO International, Yingli Green Energy and Senior Housing Properties Trust.

Despite flat software/services revenue, IBM’s performance will look like a sleek engine running in a tech sector buffeted by easing demand.

Here's your handy watchlist for this week - a week that should offer further guidance on the health of U.S. companies.

IBM may have won the most patents in 2012, but U.S. companies are losing the innovation war to Asia.

IBM's supercomputer Watson, the "Jeopardy" star, briefly went from "smart" to "smart ass" with the help of the Urban Dictionary.

No surprise: International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) received 6,478 patents in 2012, continuing its 20-year domination of the field.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) announced a deal with STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) and Shaspa for "smart homes."

When the boss of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) services retires soon, the CEO determined two heads are better.

Emphasize the positive, and forget the negative: Here are five people who deserve credit for doing things right this year.

There are thousands of tech companies to watch, but how can one determine which will be the game-changers? Don't worry, here are a few.

IBM said it planned to acquire private StoredIQ to deepen its penetration of the market for “big data” products.

A scientist at IBM (NYSE:IBM) in Zurich has devised Identity Mixer, which he believes can solve online privacy issues.

Breakthrough research at International Business Machines has yielded chips that merge optics with electronics to speed “big data."

John T. Chambers has decided to base his legacy as CEO of Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) on the cloud, software, and services.

IBM’s 2012 Black Friday and Cyber Monday reports said Twitter drove 0.0% of online sales over the two big shopping days during the Thanksgiving weekend.

Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) elected John W. Thompson as lead independent director, succeeding Reed Hastings.

Is anything left to buy now that NCR Corp. NYSE: NCR) has agreed to acquire Israel's Retalix (Nasdaq: RTLX)?

Holiday spending reached an all-time high, aided by surges in e-commerce for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, data indicates.

Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), is trying to avert a massive antitrust suit brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

“Cyber Monday” sales surged more than 30 percent above last year, creating the top online sales day, IBM (NYSE: IBM) said.

The migration of shopping to virtual storefronts was in full display on “Cyber Monday,” the biggest online shopping sale day of the year.

Online sales jumped to a new high during Black Friday - casting doubt on the future of traditional "brick and mortar" retailers.

U.S. consumers used mobile platforms to generate a 17.4 percent boost in online sales, according to an IBM survey.

Apple devices, including the iPad and the iPhone, dominated online buying during this holiday season on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, according to a report by IBM.

Some 122 million Americans are expected to shop online on Cyber Monday, Shop.org estimates.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) reported fourth-quarter results below estimates and announced an even bigger writedown than expected.

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), the top computer maker, is expected to report a staggering fourth-quarter and annual loss Tuesday.

We should have known: 2012 has been the Year of the Dragon. Too bad it's followed by the Year of the Snake.