Microsoft Q2 '11 - Still more profitable than Apple

Image via CrunchBase

Microsoft's second quarter earnings are in, and the company saw a record quarter in terms of revenue.

The Redmond giant pulled in a record revenue of $19.95 billion for the quarter ended December 31st, 2010. The company also piled in profits of $6.63 billion - beating Apple’s $6 billion record. Microsoft beat analyst’s expectation of earnings of 66 cents a share, posting a buoyant 77 cents a share.

Other highlights:

• Windows 7 is the fastest-selling operating system ever - over 300 million sold, running over 20% on PC connected to the Internet.
• Entertainment and Devices division saw a 55% growth in revenue, year on year.
• Business division grew 24%, year on year.
• Windows and Windows Live revenue down almost 30%, year on year.
• 8 million Kinect devices sold in 60 days.
• Bing completed the integration of Yahoo! search in the U.S. and Canada and continues to gain share.
• Windows Azure developer momentum continued this quarter, with Pixar Animation Studios, ADP with NVoicePay and others demonstrating compelling uses of the platform.

• Internet Explorer 9 beta most downloaded browser, with over 20 million downloads.
• Suspiciously, no activation details for Windows Phone 7 handsets. We do get some information though. Windows Phone 7 launched during the quarter in 30 countries and on 60 operators and nine different devices. Microsoft announced developers are adding Windows Phone 7 applications to the marketplace at a rate of over 100 per day.

“We are enthusiastic about the consumer response to our holiday lineup of products, including the launch of Kinect. The 8 million units of Kinect sensors sold in just 60 days far exceeded our expectations,” said Peter Klein, chief financial officer at Microsoft. “The pace of business spending, combined with strong consumer demand, led to another quarter of operating margin expansion and solid earnings per share growth.”

Detailed financials  here

Microsoft’s doing alright for itself, but that drop in Windows revenues is a sign of changing times at Microsoft.

Resource :- http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/microsoft-q2-11-still-more-profitable-than-apple/11144