Microsoft revenues hit record highs

Unloading Xbox One Consoles from Truck

Microsoft has published a financial report for the IV quarter. 2013 , which showed surprisingly good results in almost all areas (except for Windows and Surface) and surpassed analysts' forecasts.

In the last quarter, Microsoft earned a record $ 24.52 billion, while net profit reached $ 6.56 billion. The main profit growth was achieved thanks to sales growth for Xbox One, Windows Phone and software licenses for corporate customers.

Surface tablet sales more than doubled compared to the previous quarter and brought the company $ 893 million. However, this direction remains unprofitable, because Microsoft spent $ 930 million on the production and advertising of tablets. The number of sold tablets is also not called.
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Xbox consoles sold 7.4 million units, of which 3.9 million were for the new Xbox One. With the cost of the prefix $ 500 in the US and € 500 in Europe, it can be calculated that this direction alone brings the Redmond company more than 15% of the income.

Well, Microsoft earns its main profit from an exceptionally profitable business of replicating software: mainly Windows and Microsoft Office. The turnover here remains gigantic, although in some places sales are still slightly reduced. For example, Windows licenses sold 3% less due to the general weakening of the personal computer sector. In general, commercial licenses for Windows, SQL Server, Hyper-V for the IV quarter. sold for $ 11 billion, while the division's net profit was $ 10 billion (that's what's called a profitable business!).



Analysts explain that the traditional Microsoft business of selling boxed software is under threat due to the overall migration to mobile devices and cloud platforms. However, Microsoft perfectly understands this and so far successfully fits into the general trend: it starts selling more devices and offers subscription services. For example, cloud services for corporate customers brought in the IV quarter. 2013, 2.07 times more money than in the same period of 2012

In the US search engine market, Bing's share rose to 18.2%, which contributed to an increase in earnings from advertising. Microsoft says advertising revenues are up by a third.

According to independent analysts, up to $ 2 billion per year, Microsoft brings license fees from manufacturers of Android devices, although Microsoft itself does not name specific numbers, hiding these statistics in the aggregate statistics of the department.

Receiving such a huge net profit and having even greater reserves in bank accounts and securities (at least $ 84 billion), Microsoft always has the opportunity to expand business and diversify revenues. She has enough money to buy almost any IT company in the world, with the exception of the top ten. Perhaps the new CEO will do this after Steve Ballmer leaves .