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Microsoft Shares Drop After Company Reports That Quarterly Earnings And Revenue Fell

Mike Mozart
/
Flickr

Microsoft shares sank about 5 percent after the company reported that quarterly earnings dropped 25 percent. The Redmond-based software giant is trying to move beyond its traditional dependence on the personal computer market, which is struggling.

Microsoft’s revenue dropped 6 percent to $20.5 billion in the quarter that ended in March, and the company reported earnings excluding some expenses of 62 cents per share, falling short of the 64 cents that analysts on average expected, according to estimates compiled by Factset. 

One problem is a slumping PC market. IDC analyst Al Hilwa said personal computing no longer revolves around Windows as more and more people use smart phones and tablets.

"Everybody’s got Apple devices and Android devices side by side with PCs and what we’re seeing now is the company shift strategy to adjust to that," Hilwa said.

That shift includes making Word, Excel and other programs available on competitors’ operating systems. Microsoft’s also trying to compete more with Amazon in cloud computing.

In July 2017, Ashley Gross became KNKX's youth and education reporter after years of covering the business and labor beat. She joined the station in May 2012 and previously worked five years at WBEZ in Chicago, where she reported on business and the economy. Her work telling the human side of the mortgage crisis garnered awards from the Illinois Associated Press and the Chicago Headline Club. She's also reported for the Alaska Public Radio Network in Anchorage and for Bloomberg News in San Francisco.