WASHINGTON: Microsoft said Wednesday that its profits rose sharply in the past quarter, boosted by improving sales across a range of consumer products and business services, sending its shares higher.
The earnings highlighted Microsoft’s successful transition from a pure consumer software firm to a diversified tech giant focused heavily on business services. “We are working to ensure the technology we build is inclusive, trusted and creates a more sustainable world.” The division for productivity and business, including the Office software suite and the LinkedIn social network, saw a rise in revenue of 17%.“The strength this quarter was broad-based as Microsoft beat across all product categories,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives.