Microsoft reported its Q3 results after the close on Thursday. The company posted a profit of $5.11 billion, or $0.60 per share, in the quarter versus $5.23 billion of $0.61 per share a year earlier. Earnings topped the consensus view of $0.57 while revenue also beat the Street, coming in at $17.41 billion versus the average analyst estimate of $17.18 billion.
Sales improvement was driven by sales of its server software products and Office application. Online advertising revenue increased by 9% in the quarter as it looks to its Bing search solution to help compete with Google (GOOG) and establish its position as a go-to search provider.
Additionally, its Skype division showed that users are continuing to shift away from traditional, land line telephone communication, with over 100 billion minutes in calls in Q3, up 40% from the prior year.
Microsoft (MSFT : NASDAQ : US$31.01), Net Change: -0.13, % Change: -0.42%, Volume: 52,590,266