Giants like Microsoft, not immune from the global economic crisis:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Microsoft Corp. said Thursday that declining PC sales hurt revenue, as the software giant reported quarterly sales that fell for the first time in its 23-year history as a public company.
The Redmond, Wash.-based company said sales fell 6% from a year earlier to $13.7 billion, missing analysts’ expectations of $14.1 billion.
Meanwhile, the company’s net income fell 32% to $2.98 billion, or 33 cents per share, in its third quarter ended March 31.
Results included charges totaling 6 cents per share for job cuts and investments that took place in the quarter. Without the charges, Microsoft earned 39 per share, in line with forecasts by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, which typically exclude one-time items.
Microsoft said weakness in the global PC market negatively impacted its results.
Still, shares of Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) rose 4% after hours, as the company performed roughly in-line with expectations. In the previous quarter, results came in well below forecasts, and Microsoft rescinded its prior outlook for 2009.
“Expectations were much more tempered now,” said Katherine Egbert, analyst with Jefferies & Co. “People now understand that near-term business won’t be so good.”
Full article on CNN Money.
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