Windows 8 Sales Boost Microsoft’s Profits

It is probable that most of what you have read or heard about Windows 8 is negative. Given the hype Microsoft built around the latest version of its reliable operating system, the end result wasn’t up to the mark, to say the least. Even the user adoption has been touted to be slow when compared with the previous OS releases, particularly Windows 7. All this makes one think that Windows 8 is a failure and that Microsoft has lost this gamble. However, the numbers point towards something different.

There is no doubt that the market for PCs is on the decline. The rise of smartphones and tablets has seen people making the transition from desktops and laptops to handhelds. So, this is something that is going against Windows 8 as well, along with the negative publicity it seems to hog at every juncture. Yet, the reports for the third quarter of Microsoft’s fiscal year have shown that Windows 8 is a hit. When keeping in mind the state of the PC market, the Windows 8 sales have been strong.

According to the reports revealed recently, the sales of Windows grew by 23% in the last quarter. That is something not many would have been expecting, given that PC makers in general have been struggling to sell. The striking part of this whole report is that the success of Microsoft during Q3 is being attributed to Windows 8. One should keep in mind that Windows 8 was launched at the back end of the previous quarter so its sales only materialized after 2012 ended.

The company’s profits have also increased considerably, rising 16% over the quarter. Needless to say, this is the kind of news Microsoft had been waiting to hear for a long time now. Even the shareholders were impressed by what they had seen and the share price of Microsoft increased by 2% just a few hours after the announcement was made. Microsoft also reported that Office 365 and Xbox have been performing strongly, with Xbox and Kinect sales having increased by more than 56% over the last year.

Critics of Microsoft are going to say that the sales figures have been boosted by the sales carried forward from the previous quarter. Even taking that into account shows that the performance has been positive and that Microsoft is bucking the trend when it comes to the PC market. How this impacts the future of Windows 8 in particular remains to be seen.

[Image via microsoft]