Microsoft Profit Tops Expectations

(RTTNews) - Software giant Microsoft (MSFT) announced earnings for its second quarter that topped analysts' expectations, despite revenues that fell more than expected. Currency translation weighed on the top line.

The company reported quarterly net income of $4.998 billion, or $0.62 per share. This was down from $5.863 billion, or $0.71 per share, last year.

Excluding one-time items, the company profit rose to $6.275 billion, or $0.78 per share, up from $5.790 billion, or $0.70 per share last year.

Analysts were looking for the company to earn $0.71 per share, according to a survey conducted by Thomson Reuters.

Stripping out the impact of currency exchange, Microsoft said its earnings grew 20 percent from last year.

Revenue slipped to $23.80 billion, compared to $26.47 billion in the same period last year. Excluding items, the top line came in at $21.66 billion. Analysts had predicted revenue of $25.26 billion.

The company noted that its Windows 10 product is now active on over 200 million devices. It also said that the annualized revenue run rate for its commercial cloud unit is now more than $9.4 billion.