Windows 7 Makes Microsoft a Devilishly High Profit

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 29 Jan 2010

To wash away the sins of Vista, Microsoft came up with Windows 7, an operating system that put all previous versions to shame – and an operating system that was praised for being properly good throughout its development process. The Beta was good, the Release Candidate was better, and the final, stable version was the best of them all.

Users were lining up to buy Windows 7 even before it was released. As Managing Director of Amazon UK, Brian McBride said last year, Windows 7 was the “the biggest grossing pre-order product of all-time at Amazon.co.uk, and demand is still going strong.”

And once Windows 7 became generally available to the public on the 22nd of October, it became the fastest selling operating system ever. To be more precise, Craig Beilinson, Director of Marketing with Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division, said that Windows 7 is “by far the fastest selling operating system in history.”

Microsoft has reported the results for the second fiscal quarter (Q2) that ended this December. According to the report Microsoft’s revenue grew to $19.02 billion. Profits soared 60% to $6.66 billion. The Redmond-based software giant has Windows 7 to thank for the record-high revenues. More than 60 million Windows 7 licenses were sold In Q2.

“Exceptional demand for Windows 7 led to the positive top-line growth for the company,” said Chief Financial Officer at Microsoft Peter Klein. “Our continuing commitment to managing costs allowed us to drive earnings performance ahead of the revenue growth.”

Let’s do a quick recap and see how Microsoft did in Q2:
  • Revenue - $19.02 billion, a 14% increase compared to last year.
  • Operating income - $8.51 billion, a 43% increase
  • Net income - $6.66 billion, a 60% increase
  • Diluted earnings - $0.74 per share, a 57% increase.

“This is a record quarter for Windows units,” said Chief Operating Officer with Microsoft, Kevin Turner. “We are thrilled by the consumer reception to Windows 7 and by business enthusiasm to adopt Windows 7."


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