Microsoft Q2 earnings down, revenue up, from a year earlier

Computerworld - Microsoft Corp. said today that its quarterly earnings decreased as a result of large stock-based compensation expenses but revenue increased because of stronger consumer and corporate demand for PCs and accompanying software.
For its second fiscal quarter, which ended Dec. 31, Microsoft reported net income of $1.55 billion, or 14 cents per share. That's down from net income of $1.87 billion, or 17 cents per share, for the same period in 2002.
Revenue for the quarter hit $10.15 billion, up 19% from $8.54 billion in the year-earlier quarter.
"Consumer and corporate demand for PCs continued to exceed our expectations and resulted in solid double-digit revenue growth for Windows XP and Office products," John Connors, Microsoft's chief financial officer, said in a statement. "In the second quarter, the overall corporate IT market also began to show signs of a recovery, with increased demand for both desktop and server products."
For its fiscal third quarter, which will end March 31, Microsoft said it expects revenue in the range of $8.6 billion to $8.7 billion and diluted earnings per share in the range of 23 cents to 24 cents. Those earnings per share would include stock-based compensation expenses of approximately 5 cents.
Microsoft expects revenue in the range of $35.6 billion to $35.9 billion for its full fiscal year.

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