Microsoft did not blow away the quarter but the fact that it nearly met expectations constituted good news after a rough week for tech stocks. Microsoft logged earnings per share of $ 0.53 on revenue of $ 16 billion, missing estimates of $ 0.57 EPS on revenue of $ 16.4 billion. Without the deferrals, non-GAAP earnings per share would have been $ 0.65 on revenue of $ 17.4 billion
GAAP revenue was down 8 percent compared to the year-ago figure of $ 17.38 billion and EPS of $ 0.68.
This rather ho-hum news was actually a relief after Intel and IBM took it on the chin this week and the Google earnings pre-release debacle earlier on Thurday.
As is usual in a big upgrade year, Microsoft deferred revenue of $ 1.36 billion in revenue ($ 0.13 per share) to cover the transition to the Windows 8 operating system which will debut next week. Intel’s earnings indicated that the appetite for PCs remains low and that bodes ill for Windows 8. No one needs a new operating system unless they buy a new PC and it sure doesn’t look like there will be a lot of new PCs selling next quarter. HP and Dell are similarly feeling this pain.
The consensus estimates for Microsoft’s first quarter ending September 30, fell from 60 cents a share to the current estimate of earnings of 57 cents a share over the past few months.
