Microsoft Earnings Preview: Move on, Nothing to See Here
by Kara Swisher
Posted on October 23, 2009 at 1:03 AM PT
Microsoft has had a high-profile week, between launching its new Windows 7 operating system and striking real-time feed deals with both Twitter and Facebook.
But Wall Street is not expecting quite as much excitement from the software giant’s first-quarter earnings, which will be announced before the markets open this morning.
Both revenue and profits are expected to be down from the same period a year ago.
So any beating of expectations would be seen as a big deal by investors.
Microsoft (MSFT) will hold a conference call on the results at 7:30 am, which BoomTown will be liveblogging–mostly to enjoy the lilting accent of CFO Chris Liddell.
Analysts are expecting the company to report 32 cents a share on revenue of $12.4 billion. In the same period a year ago, Microsoft’s revenue was $15.1 billion on net income of 48 cents a share.
Microsoft’s execs have been striking a tone of caution for several quarters, largely due to the falloff in sales of personal computers in the wake of the econalypse.
In the last quarter, the company’s income fell 30 percent, for example, and it missed revenue estimates by $1 billion.
There have been no new products of any consequence in the first quarter, although Windows 7–which has been well-received so far–is likely to boost results in the months ahead.
Office 2010 is also coming out in the first half of this fiscal year, which should also add to a better future performance.
