Tech Earnings: Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Stumbles, Peer Results Mixed

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), another key rival, came out with a beat on Tuesday, although this was probably due in part to the very low expectations set by analysts. While net profit plunged from $8.8 billion to $6.9 billion for a decline of over 20%, EPS of $7.47 beat by $0.15. Revenue of $35.3 billion also came in ahead of expectations, beating by $300 million. The company’s gross margin declined substantially to 36.9%, but this too was better than analysts had expected. On the other hand, the company issued fairly soft guidance for the fourth quarter, with expected revenue of between $34 billion and $37 billion coming in below estimates.

The Bottom Line

So far, it’s been a mixed bag in terms of tech earnings. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) presented fairly bad results for the most recent quarter, which led to a fairly steep decline in share price. The company has been struggling with weakness in the desktop operating system market, as well as poor results from its new tablet. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) on the other hand seems to be having a hard time increasing its mobile ad revenue. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) did come out with some fairly encouraging numbers, beating the consensus, but the results are still a lot worse than the same period a year ago. Cautious investors would do well to wait for some more positive news from these companies.

The article Tech Earnings: Microsoft Stumbles, Peer Results Mixed originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Daniel James.

Daniel James has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Daniel is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

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