Following the threshold of 1 billion Windows 10 users last year, the adoption rate of the most popular Microsoft OS continues to rise, albeit at an equally fast pace.
Thus, Windows 10 has gained another 300 million users in the last year, most of them being “recruited” following the purchase of new PC and laptop systems.
Like other players in the industry, Microsoft has benefited greatly from the sharp rise in demand for new PCs, laptops, tablets, and other devices needed in telecommuting, distance learning, or simply being at home.
According to the latest investor bulletin, Microsoft ended the Q2-2021 quarter with earnings of $ 41.7 billion, above initial expectations of $ 41.03 billion. Net income was $ 15.5 billion, up 44% from a year earlier. As strong as it can be, the reported financial performance is mainly due to sales of cloud services through the Microsoft Azure platform, respectively Office 365 subscriptions. Thus, the offer of cloud solutions generated commercial revenues of $ 17.7 billion, up 33% year-on-year previous.
Meanwhile, Productivity and Business Processes revenue was $ 13.6 billion, reflecting an annual increase of 12%. The segment includes commercial Office products and cloud services (+ 14%), respectively Office products for consumers (+ 5%). The Linkedin platform is not doing worse either, the revenues generated increasing by 25%.
Revenues in the Windows OEM and Windows Commercial segments each increased by 10%. Content and service sales for the Xbox platform performed much better (+ 34%). The Search and advertising division grew by 17%, and sales of Microsoft Surface tablets increased by 12%. Finally, the Intelligent Cloud solutions segment grew by 23%, generating revenues of $ 15.1 billion.
“More than a year after the pandemic, the digital adoption curves are not slowing down. It’s accelerating and it’s just the beginning, “said Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive. “We are building the cloud for the next decade, expanding our addressable market and innovating in every layer of the technology stack to help our customers be resilient and transformable.”
