Speak of the Devil. I went to Google News to see wassup in the news of the world and crikey, there was Halo 2 and MSFT profits. Go Damian!! [Family friend - buddy of Tarken-san]. There was no crime involved, just talent, charm, energy and millions of happy subscribers: usatoday.com
<Microsoft basks in sales glow of Halo 2 game
By Byron Acohido, USA TODAY
SEATTLE — Invading extraterrestrials have been very kind to Microsoft (MSFT).
Hefty sales of the Halo 2 alien-zapping video game helped the software giant register its first quarterly profit from its line of home entertainment products. Combine that with stronger-than-expected demand for computer server software, and Microsoft on Thursday reported record quarterly sales and profit topping Wall Street's expectations.
The outgoing chief financial officer, John Connors, said, "Across-the-board strength in both our business and consumer segments" drove the robust performance. "Our long-term approach to growing new businesses is paying off," said Connors, who is leaving to become a venture capitalist.
Microsoft reported net income of $3.5 billion, or 32 cents a share, for its fiscal second quarter. It beat Wall Street's consensus — excluding certain charges — by 3 cents. Revenue rose 7% to a record $10.8 billion. In the same quarter last year, Microsoft posted net income of $1.6 billion, or 14 cents a share. Microsoft shares closed up 10 cents at $26.11.
Some analysts anticipated this would be the quarter Microsoft's growth settled into the low-single-digit range, since most businesses and home computer users already own its flagship Windows and Office desktop PC software. The next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn, isn't expected until 2007.
Yet, sales of Windows server software — used to store databases, serve up Web pages and deliver e-mail — soared 18% to $2.8 billion. After pumping billions of dollars into entertainment ventures, Microsoft finally hit big with Halo 2 for its Xbox gaming console.
When Microsoft launched the Xbox in 2001, it said it would pump $2 billion into popularizing the system, including taking a loss on each console sold.
Selling more than 6 million copies of Halo 2 "proves the company can turn a profit on a business by selling software once the hardware has penetrated the market deeply enough," says Matt Rosoff, tech industry analyst at research firm Directions on Microsoft.
Microsoft's success in the server and video game markets reflects wider health in the tech industry. It relies on such partners as Intel, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and IBM to supply the hardware that runs its server software; it courts independent game developers to supply Xbox games.
"When Microsoft competes in the right sector with the right partners, it does very well indeed," says Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT Research.
>
You could ask Google about Damian Isla, Halo 2, etc. Google is very helpful. Much more so than olde worlde Alta Vista and Compuserve or Yiwu the Mad who intends to use crime to gain property [aka Taiwan].
Mqurice |
