Microsoft Q4 Earnings Top Views

reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter. The Redmond, Washington-based company reported a quarterly loss of $3.2 billion, or $0.40 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $4.61 billion, or $0.55 per share. Excluding items, the company earned $0.62 per share. Its revenue slipped to $22.18 billion from $23.38 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.56 per share on revenue of $22.06 billion. The average estimate among 122 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.54 per share and revenue of $22.42 billion. Devices and Consumer revenue slipped 13 percent to $8.7 billion in the quarter, while Commercial revenue rose slightly to $13.5 billion in the quarter. Windows OEM revenue declined 22 percent, while surface revenue jumped 117 percent. Total Xbox revenue gained 27 percent, while search advertising revenue rose 21 percent. Commercial cloud revenue gained 88 percent, while server products and services revenue rose 4 percent. Office Commercial products and services revenue slipped 4 percent for the quarter, while Windows volume licensing revenue dropped 8 percent. "We finished the fiscal year with solid progress against our strategic priorities, through strong execution and financial discipline, which is reflected in our results for the quarter and the year," said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Microsoft. Microsoft shares fell 3.26 percent to $45.74 in the after-hours trading session.