US tech giants Microsoft and Google both miss estimates
TECH behemoths Google and Microsoft disappointed investors with their quarterly earnings last night, sending boths stocks down five per cent in after-hours trading.
Google fell short of Wall Street’s forecasts as weakening prices for the company’s adverts and mounting losses from its recent acquisition Motorola weighed on earnings.
The world’s biggest search engine said net income in the quarter was $3.23bn, up from $2.79bn a year ago.
Meanwhile Microsoft said slow personal computer sales had knocked its Windows business. The firm also took a surprise $900m charge for its unsold Surface tablets.
Revenue rose 10 per cent to $19.9bn, helped by sales of Microsoft Office, but fell short of analysts’ average estimate of $20.7bn.
The results also recognised a $733m fine from the European Commission for failing to offer a choice of internet browser.
The lacklustre figures came a day after IBM and Intel also missed forecasts – though chipmaker AMD last night fared better than expected with a loss of $74m.