Microsoft has posted record earnings for the quarter, with a massive 22 per cent year on year rise to $16.04 billion. Yearly revenue was up seven per cent at $62.48 billion. Windows 7 was one of the biggest successes, as Microsoft sold 175 million licenses.
Windows 7 launched in Q4 2009, and in that same quarter, an estimated 90 million PCs were shipped. This is potentially great news for Microsoft, as it points to a trend in existing users upgrading their PCs to Windows 7. The Xbox side of the business also continues to flourish, as Xbox Live users skip past the 25 million mark, and sold 1.5 million consoles in the quarter.
Net income for Microsoft was up 29 per cent, to $18.76 billion for the year, at $4.51 billion for the quarter, which is over one billion more than Apple.
Microsoft’s commitment to moving into cloud services was pressed even in its quarterly profits announcement. COO Kevin Turner said: “Our transition to cloud services is well underway with offerings like Windows Azure and our Business Productivity Online Services, and we look forward to continuing our product momentum this fall with the upcoming launches of Windows Phone 7 and Xbox Kinect.”
