Microsoft said Thursday that it earned $4.93 billion, or 50 cents per share, on revenue of $14.40 billion for the three months ended March 31. That compares with net income of $2.98 billion, or 29 cents per share, on revenue of $10.9 billion for the same quarter a year earlier.
The quarter’s earnings were boosted by a 2 cent per share tax benefit and legal charges that dented per-share earnings by a penny. Excluding those items, the company would have posted earnings of 49 cents per share, ahead of the 46 cents that analysts were projecting, according to First Call. In January, Microsoft said to expect revenue between $13.7 billion and $14 billion and per-share earnings of 46 cents or 47 cents.
Microsoft’s revenue and profits included some money that was deferred from earlier quarters as part of a Vista upgrade program. The deferred money accounted for $1.67 billion in revenue and accounted for 12 cents per share in earnings.
Source: CNET News.com