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 |  موضوع: Microsoft Beats Earnings Estimate, Wall Street Still Concerned about Windows Sales الأحد يوليو 31, 2011 8:59 pm | |
| Microsoft posted better than expected quarterly
earnings driven by strong sales in its Office and XBox units, while
sales of the Windows operating system were down for the third straight
quarter.
Microsoft seems to be in a no-win situation with
Wall Street analysts who may or may not understand the underlying forces
that drive sales of Microsoft's products. Despite better than expected
earnings - and some of the uptick was attributed to an unusual,
temporarily low tax rate - Wall Street is concerned that sales of Windows
and PC sales overall are slowing. Perhaps most concerning to investors
is the fact that Microsoft doesn't yet have a significant presence in
the tablet market, which has exploded since the introduction of the
Apple's iPad. That's the hot market at the moment, and everyone seems to
think that tablets are going to replace traditional PCs.
Of course, that's a bit of a short-sighted view, especially in light of
the global financial crisis and the fact that businesses rarely need to
upgrade their PCs in the short-term. Many would like to, of course, but
it's usually more of a luxury than a necessity for most traditional
business models.
Microsoft's leading sales drivers were tied to its recent offering of a
cloud-based Office service, strong sales from its XBox gaming system as
well as nice performance from its server software division. Windows
sales were down as were PC sales overall, and the correlation there is
obvious. Some look at the overall global economy as the reason behind
the slow PC sales - most of which would have Windows as their operating
system. And while tablet sales are raging worldwide, they are limited to
consumers.
Businesses won't be replacing their laptops or desktop PCs with tablets
in the foreseeable future. Anyone who's ever attempted to send an
important e-mail from their iPad will tell you that.
By Buzzle Staff and Agencies | |
|
