bill - 4:31 am on Jan 28, 2011 (gmt 0)

MS beat the estimates and reported sales of nearly $20 Billion for the quarter. Not bad. The XBox appears to have been a big part of that.

Microsoft Reports Record $0.77 Earnings Per Share in Second Quarter [microsoft.com] Redmond, Wash. – Jan. 27, 2011 – Microsoft Corp. today announced record second-quarter revenue of $19.95 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2010. Operating income, net income and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $8.17 billion, $6.63 billion and $0.77 per share, respectively. Prior year results reflect the recognition of $1.71 billion of deferred revenue relating to the Windows 7 Upgrade Option program and sales of Windows 7 before general availability in October 2009. Second-quarter growth rates for revenue and earnings per share were 5% and 4% respectively. Without the deferred recognition in the prior year, second-quarter growth rates for revenue and earnings per share were 15% and 28%, respectively.