PC Sales, Business Spending Boost Q4'10

Strong PC sales growth and a recovery in business spending helped Microsoft book US$16.04 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter of its 2010 fiscal year (ended June 30, 2010), a 22% increase from last year’s quarter. Net income came in at US$4.52 billion, up 48% from last year. Another bright spot was unearned revenue, most of which comes from sales of business software multiyear license agreements: it reached levels not seen since mid-2008, suggesting that business spending is returning to pre-recession levels.

(For an overview of Microsoft’s recent financial performance, see the chart “Microsoft Financials for the Last Five Quarters“.)

Strong Growth in All Business Segments

All five of Microsoft’s business segments showed more than 10% revenue growth over last year’s Q4. In particular, increased PC sales contributed to strong sales of Windows 7 and Office 2010 on new PCs.

(For a chart detailing the results of each business segment, see “Revenue and Profit (Loss) by Business Segment“.)