Microsoft (MSFT) delivered a solid quarter with earnings per share coming in at 77 cents, well ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents. It was a 28% increase over the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the second quarter of 2011 was $19.95 billion, up 15% year-over-year, and ahead of consensus at $19.12 billion. Sales were particularly strong in the Entertainment & Devices Division, which were up a whopping 55%. Much of this growth was fueled by the successful launch of the Kinect sensor for Xbox 360, with more than 8 million units sold in just 60 days.
Meanwhile, the company’s Business Division saw revenue growth of 24% driven by strong demand for Office 2010.
COO Kevin Turner noted in the press release that “[b]usiness demand for our productivity and infrastructure products and cloud solutions is strong. Office had a huge quarter, exceeding everyone’s expectations, [and] Windows 7 continues to be the fastest-growing operating system in history.”
The tech giant also announced that it had sold more than 300 million Windows 7 licenses, and Windows 7 is now running on over 20% of Internet-connected PCs. The company also launched Windows Phone 7 in 30 countries during the quarter but did not give any sort of sales breakdown.
Returning Value to Shareholders
Microsoft spent a remarkable $5.1 billion in the quarter buying back stock in addition to paying out $1.3 billion in dividends. The company still has an incredible $41.25 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments on its balance sheet as of December 31.
Sales Breakdown
Revenue for the second quarter of 2011 was divided as follows:
Windows & Windows Live Division: 25%
Server and Tools: 22%
Online Services Division: 3%
Microsoft Business Division: 30%
Entertainment and Devices Division: 19%
Shares are down about 1% after hours.
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