Microsoft Takes A Hit In Profits… Wishes They Were Apple

Apple came out with stunning quarterly numbers yesterday, but it seems that Microsoft couldn’t do the same today:

Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft said that in its third quarter, which ended March 31, profit was $2.98-billion, or 33 cents per share. In the same quarter of 2008, Microsoft earned $4.39-billion, or 47 cents per share.

Microsoft’s profit included a $290-million charge for severance from some of the layoffs announced in January. The software maker also wrote down $420-million related to investments that lost value.

Excluding such items, Microsoft said it would have earned 39 cents per share, matching the estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

To save you the trouble of doing the math, Microsoft’s profits dropped by 32%. Oh yeah, Microsoft won’t offer any guidance for the coming quarter. A sure sign that business for them will continue to be bad.

Besides chairs being thrown around CEO Steve Ballmer’s office, do you think that Microsoft type are wishing that they were Apple right now?

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