Microsoft last night raised its full-year earnings outlook above Wall Street targets and reporting a 79 per cent rise in quarterly profit.
Analysts took the results as a good sign for technology companies in the face of a slowing economy, and Microsoft shares rose 4.5 per cent in after-hours trade. That followed a 4 per cent gain in regular trade, representing a gain of more than $26 billion in its market value for the day.
Microsoft chief financial officer, Chris Liddell
The results and raised forecasts from the world's largest software maker come on the heels of disappointing outlooks from tech bellwethers Intel and Apple, which unnerved a US stock market that shed about 10 per cent to start the year, before bouncing.
Microsoft reported bumper quarterly sales of its Windows Vista operating system and Office software on the back of strong computer sales, while its Xbox unit cashed in on new game titles that spurred hardware demand.
Net profit in Microsoft's fiscal second quarter rose to $4.7 billion, or 50 cents per diluted share, from $2.6 billion, or 26 cents per diluted share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 30 per cent to $16.37 billion.
Analysts, on average, had forecast 46 cents per share on revenue of $15.94 billion, according to Reuters estimates.