Liveblogging Microsoft’s Earnings Call
Driven by strong sales of its flagship Windows operating system, Microsoft’s profit rose 35 percent in the fiscal third quarter, surpassing analyst estimates. Clearly, the company is seeing a nice bit of uplift from a recovering PC market.
Below, excerpts of The Wall Street Journal Digits liveblog of Microsoft’s earnings call, led by CFO Peter Klein and Chief Accounting Officer Frank Brod.
- Mr. Klein says results are a result of the momentum of its products, a focus on managing costs and the “beginning stages of a return in business hardware spending.”
- Strong demand for Windows 7 was “a prime contributor,” to results, he says. More than 10% of PCs world-wide are already running Windows 7, making it the fastest-selling operating system ever. But he adds that this 10% figure “also illustrates how much opportunity still remains.”
- Microsoft’s search offering, Bing, has achieved 10 consecutive months of growth, Mr. Klein says, and the mentions the benefit from the clearing of a search agreement with Yahoo.
- The call is turned over to Bill Koefoed, the general manager for investor relations, who will talk about more detailed results. He says Microsoft’s revenue grew 6% to $14.5 billion.
- Emerging markets grew more than 20%, he says, while mature markets grew in the single digits. The company saw renewed strength in the small- and medium-business market, and the company is seeing the return of the larger enterprise market in general.
- He says Windows 7 and innovations in PCs are driving growth in the PC market. Microsoft estimates that the PC market grew 25% year over year, with consumer purchases growing almost 30% and business PCs growing 14%. Netbooks were 10% of the total PC market for the quarter.
