Microsoft just reported the results for its third financial quarter of 2013. The company’s revenue came in just under expectations at $20.49 billion but it beat expectation with an earnings per share of $0.72. Despite the muted response to Windows 8 and PC sales that continue to disappoint, the analyst consensus was that Microsoft’s revenue would increase 13 percent compared to last year. The expectation was that Microsoft would report $20.56 billion in revenue and EPS of $0.68 this quarter, compared to the $0.60 EPS and $17.41 billion in revenue Microsoft reported in Q3 2012. 
“The bold bets we made on cloud services are paying off as people increasingly choose Microsoft services including Office 365, Windows Azure, Xbox LIVE, and Skype,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft in the announcement. “While there is still work to do, we are optimistic that the bets we’ve made on Windows devices position us well for the long-term.”
Last quarter, which is traditionally very strong, the company reported record GAAP revenue of $21.5 billion, a net income of $6.38 billion and diluted earnings per share of $0.76.
As part of today’s announcement, Microsoft also said that its CFO Peter Klein would be leaving the company after about four years in this role and eleven years with the company. Microsoft will announce a new CFO from its finance leadership team in the coming weeks.
Given the recent launch of Windows 8 and the slumping PC market, the results from the Windows Division will surely come under a lot of scrutiny this time around. Last quarter, Microsoft reported a 24 percent year-over-year increase in revenue from this group (for a total of $5.88 billion). This time, the Windows Division posted revenue of $5.70 billion, a full 23% increase from the prior year period.
Here are this quarter’s results from the company’s various divisions:
- Microsoft Business Division posted $6.32 billion of revenue, up 8% from last year
- Server & Tools business reported $5.04 billion of revenue, up 11% from last year
- Online Services Division reported revenue of $832 million, up 18% from last year
- Entertainment and Devices Division posted revenue of $2.53 billion, up 56% from last year
Last quarter, the Server & Tools unit reported a 9 percent increase in revenue for a total of $5.19 billion. The Business Division, on the other hand, reported a 10 percent drop, while both the Online Services Division and the Entertainment and Devices Division (the home of Xbox), reported 11 percent increases.