Microsoft last night posted a 24 per cent decline in net profit that sparked fears of an industry-wide slump.
The company reported a net profit of $2.83 billion, or 28 cents per diluted share, for its fiscal fourth quarter ended June 30th.
A year ago, Microsoft delivered a net profit of $3.7 billion, or 34 cents per share, boosted by a tax gain.
Fourth-quarter revenue rose 16 per cent to $11.8 billion. Excluding an EU fine, Microsoft earned 31 cents per share.
But the results beat Wall Street estimates after stripping out a $351 million legal charge related to a recent fine from the European Union.
Earlier this week, technology companies Yahoo and Intel delivered disappointing earnings results, triggering some investor concerns about a sector-wide downturn.