Microsoft is starting to feel the effects of the shrinking PC marketplace. Windows revenue generated by sales to PC makers fell 7% in the July-September quarter. True, that’s not as bad as Microsoft had expected; it had forecast a 15% decline. Still, Windows revenue rose 1%in the April-June quarter, despite sharp declines in the PC market.
Microsoft also reported that revenue from sales of its Surface tablets rose to $400 million, and said that unit sales have doubled since the April-June quarter.
Another peak in the hills and valleys of the quarter’s earnings announcement: Commercial cloud revenue, which includes Windows Azure and related services, skyrocketed 103%. Microsoft’s renewed marketing push for Azure, which kicked off this summer, seems to be paying off.
