Microsoft Q2 sales and profit top estimates
Last Updated: Thursday, January 24, 2008 | 5:42 PM ET
The Associated Press
Microsoft Corp. said Thursday its fiscal second-quarter profit topped analysts' expectations and climbed 79 per cent, buoyed by rising sales of Windows-based personal computers.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, profit increased to $4.71 billion US, or 50 cents a share, from $2.63 billion, or 26 cents a share in the same period last year.
Microsoft 3-month chart
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had forecast a profit of 46
cents a share.
Revenue at the company rose 31 per cent to $16.37 billion from $12.5 billion in the year-ago quarter, ahead of analysts' prediction of $15.95 billion in sales.
The quarter was particularly strong when compared with a year ago, when Microsoft deferred more than $1 billion in revenue due to delays in getting Windows Vista, its newest operating system, to consumers.
Microsoft's "client" division, responsible for Vista, posted revenue of $4.34 billion. The business division, which includes Office, brought in $4.81 billion in sales.
Stronger-than-expected PC sales in the second quarter — 13.1 per cent compared with last year, according to research group Gartner Inc. — helped both divisions.
Shares of Microsoft rose $1.40, more than four per cent, in extended trading, after gaining $1.32, or four per cent, to close the regular session on the Nasdaq market at $33.25.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Everest victim's husband says family not seeking government help
- The husband of a Toronto woman who died trying to climb Mt. Everest on Saturday says his family is not seeking government help to cover the cost of bringing his wife's body home. more »
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- B.C. Premier Christy Clark says she is not happy with the RCMP decision to transfer a disgraced Alberta Mountie to the West Coast. more »
- Henrique's OT goal sends Devils into Stanley Cup final
- The New Jersey Devils will vie for a potential fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history after defeating the New York Rangers in six games in the Eastern final, courtesy of rookie Adam Henrique's goal early in overtime. more »
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- The federal government is scrapping two review boards used by people appealing decisions made about their employment insurance. more »
Latest Technology & Science News Headlines
- Unloading of docked SpaceX capsule to start Saturday
- The privately bankrolled SpaceX Dragon capsule made a historic arrival at the International Space Station on Friday, and astronauts will begin unloading some of the 544 kilograms of food, water, clothing and other supplies its carrying starting Saturday. more »
- South Africa, Australia to share world's largest telescope
- South Africa and Australia will jointly host the Square Kilometre Array, which promises to be the world's largest telescope, the international consortium in charge of the project said Friday. more »
- Bonavista, N.L., 'coyote' was really wolf, tests confirm
- Wolves have not been seen in Newfoundland since around 1930 and were believed to have been hunted to extinction on the island, but genetic tests have confirmed that an 82-pound animal shot on the Bonavista Peninsula in March was, in fact, a wolf. more »
- Once-rare argus butterfly thriving thanks to climate change
- Global warming is threatening the existence of many species, such as the giant polar bear, but in the case of Britain's brown argus butterfly, it took a species in trouble and made it thrive. more »
- Yahoo scraps digital magazine designed for iPad
- Yahoo has killed Livestand, a tablet magazine, just six months after its debut on the iPad. more »
Bob McDonald's Blog
Government to shut down unique fresh water research area May. 25, 2012 12:31 PM The Experimental Lakes Area research facility in Northern Ontario is being closed down after 44 years of providing invaluable data to scientists in Canada and internationally, a decision that has stunned researchers and environmental groups.
Quirks & Quarks
- May 26: Before the Lights Go Out May. 25, 2012 4:15 PM A new book, "Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before It Conquers Us", suggests that the unpredictable, unplanned, ad-hoc way our energy use developed in the past will shape our energy future.
Latest Features
- Aylmer triple stabbing leads to first-degree murder charges
- Everest victim's husband says family not seeking government help
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- Third B.C. salmon farm quarantined
- What a Greek euro exit could mean for Canada
- RCMP officer charged in fatal crash
- Canada ending 'Buffalo shuffle' for visas, closing consulate
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
