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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Microsoft results hit its shares | Microsoft results hit its shares |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Microsoft's quarterly earnings, and the software company's predictions for the next three-month period, have come in worse than many analysts expected. | |
| Net profit was $4.3bn (£2.2bn) in April to June. That is 41% higher than a year earlier, when Microsoft took a $1bn charge to fix faulty Xbox 360 consoles. | Net profit was $4.3bn (£2.2bn) in April to June. That is 41% higher than a year earlier, when Microsoft took a $1bn charge to fix faulty Xbox 360 consoles. |
| For the current quarter, it predicted earnings of 47 to 48 cents per share, less than the expected 49 cents. | For the current quarter, it predicted earnings of 47 to 48 cents per share, less than the expected 49 cents. |
| Microsoft shares fell 6% in after-hours electronic trading in New York. | Microsoft shares fell 6% in after-hours electronic trading in New York. |
| The drop indicates that Microsoft's shares will open lower when trading starts in New York later on Friday. | The drop indicates that Microsoft's shares will open lower when trading starts in New York later on Friday. |
| Takeover attempts | |
| Microsoft said that its online division, which makes most of its money from online advertising, lost $488m in the quarter. | Microsoft said that its online division, which makes most of its money from online advertising, lost $488m in the quarter. |
| That figure was almost double its loss for the same period of 2007. | That figure was almost double its loss for the same period of 2007. |
| "This is the area where we're seeing direct impact from the economic slowdown," said Microsoft's chief financial officer Chris Liddell. | "This is the area where we're seeing direct impact from the economic slowdown," said Microsoft's chief financial officer Chris Liddell. |
| Microsoft has spent much of this year trying to buy Yahoo and made its latest attempt via a joint offer with the investor Carl Icahn last weekend. | |
| "It's back and forth with Yahoo and Microsoft every day," said Sid Parakh, an analyst at McAdams, Wright, Ragen. | |
| "That's distracting for investors and employees and even advertisers." |