Stronger demand for PCs helped Microsoft boost sales of its Windows and Office products, increasing fiscal second quarter revenue by 19 per cent. However, earnings for the three-month period fell 17 per cent as the company took a huge charge for stock-based compensation.
Analysts praised the company's overall performance, reported last night, but expressed concern about a decline in unearned revenue proceeds from contracts that are recognized as revenue over time.
That decline of $395 million from the previous quarter reflects the company's inability to sign up customers for long-term, sustainable business contracts, said Jonathan Geurkink, an analyst with Ragen MacKenzie in Seattle.
Microsoft said unearned revenue would decline again in the current quarter ending in March, but was expected to increase in the company's fiscal fourth quarter.
The Redmond, Wash.-based corporation reported earnings of $1.55 billion, or 14 cents per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31. That's down from earnings of $1.87 billion, or 17 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
But earnings for the three-month period included an after-tax charge of $2.17 billion, or 20 cents per share, in expenses related to stock-based compensation for employees.
Without the charge, the company would have had earnings of 34 cents per share. Analysts expected earnings of 30 cents per share.
Because its once-soaring stock price had remained relatively flat, Microsoft switched last year to offering employees stock grants instead of stock options.
Microsoft had record revenue of $10.15 billion, up 19 percent from revenues of $8.54 billion in the same period one year earlier.
Microsoft slightly altered its forecast for the full fiscal year, to profits of 82 cents to 83 cents a share, including a charge of approximately 35 cents to account for expenses related to the stock-based compensation. It previously had forecast earnings of 86 cents to 88 cents per share, including a charge of 24 cents per share.
For the 12-month period that ends June 30, the company said it expects revenue to be between $35.6 billion and $35.9 billion. Previously, it said it expected revenue of $34.8 billion to $35.3 billion.