Today, Microsoft has revealed the financial results of work in the second fiscal quarter - and there really is something to see.

The amount of data exceeds the limit, so let's try to systematize the information received and concentrate on the most important.

Whole picture

In general, Microsoft’s actual performance met analysts' expectations : $ 26.5 billion in revenue and $ 0.71 earnings per share. And although the company's revenue slightly (2%) decreased compared to the same period a year ago - firstly, it was expected, and secondly, the company’s fiscal report this year was affected by the purchase of the “telephone department”, which is only “ eats up "company funds and does not make a profit, and does not exist at 0.
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Shares of the company right now have fallen by more than 9%, which may be due to slightly unfulfilled investor expectations, profit taking and news from Microsoft itself that the company expects a soft 4-5% growth during this fiscal year. The numbers, to put it mildly, are not the most impressive.

Where does this whimsy growth come from and why? Microsoft writes about the problems associated with the transfer of foreign currency and exchange rate differences, as well as worsening macro-indicators in emerging and developed markets, including Japan. If we impose on this recent refusal to support XP - we get a picture of slow growth.

So the quarter was failed? Not at all. And that's why.

Train

All of the “iron” development of Microsoft last quarter was generally the best in history: Surface set a record for profits, and Lumia Windows Phone broke the record for deliveries. Compared to the previous quarter, revenue from the sale of handsets fell from $ 2.6 billion to $ 2.3 billion. Surface also showed an increase in absolute numbers from $ 900 million last year to $ 1.1 billion in that.

The Xbox branch sold 6.6 million consoles, which is slightly less than in the same quarter last year, without saying how many new Xbox Ones were given into the hands of buyers. However, according to Microsoft, Xbox One was the best-selling console in the United States during the holidays.

Clouds and services

Office 365 has acquired 2.2 million new subscribers, which, in total, are now 9.2 million. Simple math suggests that 9.2 million x $ 10 per month x 12 months generates $ 1.1 billion in revenue for Microsoft, which is not so bad.

The commercial cloud has earned $ 5.5 billion, which means an increase of $ 1.1 billion over the past two quarters. Together with the previous figure, it turns out rather big $ 7 billion for clouds and services.

In the same section, we can mention the growth of Bing advertising revenue by 23% compared with the same quarter a year ago.

Windows

The operating system was, perhaps, the most difficult quarter, primarily because in the same period last year Microsoft was handing out buns and gingerbread. In this same Windows XP is no longer supported, and revenue with Windows 8 was, finally, a net profit.

Microsoft writes that at the moment more than 2 million people are testing Windows 10, having risen from 1.7 million 5 days ago.

When asked by the analyst how cheaper or completely free (OEM) versions of Windows will be monetized in the future, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadela explained that the company is hoping for a mix of services and sales: Windows Store, Bing, Xbox Live and others.

Microsoft also claims to be willing to license its own operating system at low prices for low-budget devices in order to increase market share.

More devices that have different versions of Windows on board mean that more devices will be upgraded to Windows 10 for free.

Microsoft also notes that the factor of strengthening dollar will play an important role in the next two quarters of the fiscal year, which may affect the selling prices of services and products for consumers in different countries.

In general, despite good results, stagnation is not the most favorite word on Wall Street. Therefore, the company will have to strain this year in order to meet the indicators that investors expect. But with the foundations for Microsoft, this should not be a big deal.