Under ordinary circumstances, Microsoft's first-quarter profit would have been respectable, but it wouldn't have been a blowout quarter. In today's economic climate, though, it looked like a homerun, given the fact that the company a) didn't miss Wall Street estimates, and b) didn't drastically cut its future outlook.
"Just as the market begins to rally at the close Microsoft jams the stick shift into 6th gear with an earnings report that should do some good when assuaging all that economic panic," said CNBC reporter Jim Goldman.
The company posted net income of $4.37 billion, or 48 cents per share, up from $4.29 billion, or 45 cents per share in the year-ago period.
Photo: Flickr/Erwin Boogert
