“Microsoft topped earnings forecasts, helped by sales of its Office software, but profit from its core Windows fell on soft PC sales,” CNBC reports.
The software giant reported its earnings excluding items rose to 69 cents a share in its fiscal fourth quarter from 51 cents a share a year earlier,” CNBC reports. “Revenue for the most recent period increased to $17.37 billion from $16.04 billion a year earlier.”
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CNBC reports, “Analysts who follow Microsoft expected the company to turn a profit of 58 cents a share on sales of $17.23 billion, according to a consensus estimate compiled by Thomson Reuters.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Shares of Microsoft are currently down slightly $0.18, or 0.68%, to $26.91 in after-hours trading as MSFT investors remain as comatose as ever.
17.37Billion…basically pushing the same POS year over year…
Wow, what a difference a year makes. Last year it seemed like such a big deal to pull past Microsoft in revenues for the quarter. Now MS is $11 billion in the rearview mirror. Is it possible that in Q1FY12 that Apple’s revenues will be 2x those of Microsoft?
With a strong back to school quarter and then a strong Christmas quarter I totally expect to hit the 2XMS value.
MSFT would be well served by a $19 Office app that makes full use of IOS.
The fact they haven’t done this yet makes my head hurt.
They obviously don’t want to compete against iwork.. and they don’t want to do it at that price… the App store model totally kills MS because the software is actually very affordable.
Pity, they could actually grow the franchise.
Someone should jog their collective memory: MSFT is a software company.
I wish Apple would release their long overdue iWork update.
Take an aspirin. Redmond lacks the talent pool to pull off such a simple feat.
Microsoft’s slide into irrelevance continues apace.
I wonder how much longer they can continue losing so much money on Bing?
I mean, Google can make search profitable, so why can’t Microsoft?
Because Ballmer-the-fat-ass-loser is CEO… 🙂
my 2 cents…
Future appears to be in mobile. Google does not have a rigid stronghold on that yet; MS can fight with Nokia, some of HTC/Samsung etc. OEMs with Windows 8, possibly RIM and WebOS with partnership, but more importantly with iOS (where Google blew it with a major-league blunder). Google’s default status on these platforms/devices are not guaranteed.
After decades of refusing to use any MS products, Google has forced me to switch to Bing on my iPhone. So yeah, if not anything else, let there be a Bing to counter Google. Two evils pitted against each other may not be a bad thing for the time being.
I’ve always hated MS products too. But I’m running Bing on my iPhone and iPad. I just couldn’t stand seeing the word “Google” on my precious idevices!!!
35% profit growth is not bad actually. It’s interesting that the performance is really driven by the office sales, not windows that suggest their platform is dying.
i really think Apple should make iWork suite available for free as a standard application in ipad and mac, just like iLife. iWork does not bring that much to the bottom line anyway but making it free and standard will drive mac and ipad adoption significantly.
I don’t think Apple needs to do anything different with their iWork strategy – their prices are certainly reasonable enough. Making iWork free wouldn’t necessarily solve anything, but would potentially invite antitrust scrutiny (thanks to Microsoft doing the same OS+office apps thing).
Whoah, ANOTHER Dmitri, and spelled the same way? This is one lucky forum.
Small world!
We’ll have to team up and really get our way around here!
Would you object to a Dmitri’s left nut?
the tax rate was 7 percent. In 2010, it was 25 percent. This is a one time event. They did not make a 34 percent increase, more like 4 percent without the rebate from the IRS.
Hey Ballmer-the-fat-ass-loser, we like your strategy we like it a lot!! Please ignore all MSFT critics, you are doing a very fine job!!
Wish iWork would add an email app, so I can dump entourage 2004 and upgrade to lion. Not interested in buying the newer version of entourage
Apple has an email app and it’s not bad. Entourage is a mess.
If Microsoft office was really so popular and in such heavy demand, why do they keep lowering the price on it?
The consumer and boxed versions have dropped in price to keep people hooked, the enterprise side is actually pricey and well planned out to make ms money. They sell you on office because it all integrates with their enterprise server software, which you then buy also.
Always wanted to see a real competitor but so far they have not been beaten. All the competitors fall far short of what office is capable of.
VBA and the ability to pull data frim multiple sources and do complex analysis on that data with relatively little work has been the key piece no one can seem to match MS at doing and it has entrenched office
“Always wanted to see a real competitor”
Make one. Seriously. I’ve learned to program because sitting around waiting for somebody else to make the your dream software just doesn’t work.
Im not that interested in office suites to be honest.
I think id become a contributor to the open office project if I were that hell bent on it.
Alas i have little time lately and already contribute source code to an open source media scraper. I just can’t stay up programming for days on end like the good ole days of my youth *sniff*
Heckuva job, Ballmy!
MSFT has been flat for a decade. Including the years before, MSFT is down 20%.
May Ballmer remain CEO for as long as it Takes!! Also there other Skype opportunities out there. Please spend another 8 billion on something else
Actually this is good news. Ballmer and company will build 1000 Microsoft Stores on this news. They want to have more than Apple, so I say go for it.
I always wonder if Ballmet-the-fat-ass-loser’s kids own any Apple products. :-p
I read that neither Gates nor Ballmer allow their children to have Apple products. Actually, that is such a stupid thing to do. If their children had access to competing products, they would provide useful insights into the Apple ecosystem.
From our point of view though, the sort of blinkered thinking that helps Apple. May Ballmer stay CEO for as long as it takes ………
The problem with Windows revenue will be exacerbated over the next year – or whenever Windows 8 actually gets released. And Entertainment & Devices is coming back down to its pre-Kinect reality after peaking in the holiday quarter. Any other rabbits up there, guys?
http://themacadvocate.com/2011/07/21/microsoft-reports-earnings-windows-revenue-udder-shrivels-for-second-consecutive-quarter/
This is from the linked article, not one mention of the iPad !
Analysts are projecting that sales of tablet computers using Microsoft software will top those of the high-profile Playbook from BlackBerry maker Research In Motion[ RIMM 27.92 +1.28 (+4.80%) ], according to Strategy Analytics.
“Even though Microsoft has yet to launch a version of its Windows software designed specifically for tablet computers it still picked up a 4.6 percent share of the market in the second quarter compared with a 3.3 percent share for Playbook, which is based on RIM’s QNX software.”
The fact that Microsoft still has money to waste is a good thing for Apple. It means that Microsoft will continue to be content to play constant catch-up, which is inefficient and wasteful. It means they will be predictable and adverse to taking risks (to not upset their “cash cows”). It means that Microsoft’s current leadership and culture will continue for a while longer…
1
I like your insight. Is Ballmer Microsoft’s cash cow? One could argue he’s spending Microsoft’s cash like a drunken sailor, and…he looks like a cow…so…it looks like he’s the real deal…the Joe Bananas…the Captain America of cash cows…
Unfortunately I had to contribute to M$ Office coffers and upgrade so Lion will open docs. Partner stuck with PC at work and must be able to use Office. Betcha Lion makes Office revenue soar.
You do realize that Pages can open and save .doc MS Word format.
look at the tax rate for the Q. It is at 7 percent. Average has been 25 percent. Must be due to their win vs the IRS. This is an aberration, a one-off.
At 25 percent tax rate, their EPS would have been 55 cents.
Well next quarter will be interesting then.
I can already see several overhyped koolaid induces MDN article titles in my head. Lol.
Really im looking forward to the first quarter they post a loss. The sooner that happens the sooner sir balmer is gone. I dont care about him but ive got very talented family and friends who work there and they are just dying to be inspired behind a strong leader. Ballmer aint that leader.
As always, I’m forced to state the unpleasant.
Bing is good!
Office is really good.
XBOX/Kinect is really REALLY good.
Thank god Windows and Windows Phone blow or we would actually have a competitor.