Microsoft’s incredible track record with quarterly profits has come to an end, after the company reported its first ever loss in a three month period.
The software giant made a loss of $492 million between the months of April and June this year, marking its first loss since joining the stock market in 1986 – an absolutely phenomenal record. In the same period – Q2 – of last year, Microsoft made hefty profits of $5.9 billion.
Microsoft’s losses are being linked to aQuantive, an advertising network that Microsoft acquired in 2007 for a whopping $6.3 billion. Microsoft had hoped to take on Google at the advertising game, but has struggled to compete, with its own solution failing to bring in the expected profits.
The popularity of its Windows operating system has also seen a decline, with the ratio of PCs to Macs being purchased now almost equal for the first time since the 80s. Of course, Microsoft has rejuvenation on the mind, with Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 both set to launch later this year to usher in a new generation of products.
Revenue for the company still rose during Q2 by 4%, taking the total to the dizzying heights of $18.06 billion. After the results were announced, share prices rose by 1.6%.
Microsoft expects a more profitable end to the year as Windows 8 launches at the end of October and its own tablet device, the Surface, launches later this year. The Surface is Microsoft’s first Windows 8 tablet and will run either the full version of Windows 8, or a slimmed down ‘RT’ version for lower-power hardware.
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