Microsoft Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Microsoft (NAS: MSFT) reported earnings on Jan. 19. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q2), Microsoft met expectations on revenue and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased, and earnings per share expanded slightly.

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Microsoft chalked up revenue of $20.9 billion. The 25 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected sales of $20.9 billion. Sales were 4.7% higher than the prior-year quarter's $20.0 billion.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.78. The 27 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.76 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.78 for Q2 were 1.3% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.77 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 73.0%, 280 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 38.3%, 260 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 31.7%, 150 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $17.5 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.61.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $74.3 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.72.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 13,478 members out of 15,455 rating the stock outperform, and 1,979 members rating it underperform. Among 3,057 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 2,778 give Microsoft a green thumbs-up, and 279 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Microsoft is outperform, with an average price target of $31.00.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of and creating a bull call spread position in Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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