Microsoft earnings top expectations
C|Net | at | by Mike
Buoyed by strong demand for PCs, Microsoft on Thursday reported better-than-expected quarterly sales and earnings, with the company noting that it sees signs of a recovery in corporate tech spending.
For the three months ended Dec. 31, Microsoft earned $1.55 billion, or 14 cents per share, on record revenue of $10.15 billion. The earnings figure included 20 cents per share to cover the cost of stock-based compensation, including a 14-cent one-time charge for the cost of a program that allowed employees to sell their underwater stock options.
In the same quarter a year earlier, Microsoft had earnings, after charges, of $1.87 billion, or 17 cents per share, on revenue of $8.54 billion.