Friday, July 19, 2013

Disappointing Day for Tech Stocks

Two of the biggest high-tech companies in the world, Google and Microsoft, reported their earnings yesterday, and the news was not good. Microsoft's reported revenue of $19.9 billion, which was below the Wall Street consensus of $20.74 billion. Especially disappointing was the $900 million charge Microsoft was forced to take for "inventory adjustments" on its Surface tablet computer.

Meanwhile, Google reported revenues of $14.4 billion and earnings per share of $9.56. The Wall Street consensus had those figures pegged at $14.11 billion and $10.78. Weaker ad revenues were given as the primary reason for the shortfall.

The upshot of all that disappointment: Microsoft's shares dropped by 6.4 percent, and Google's by 4 percent. The third of the tech behemoth stocks, Apple, reports its earnings next Tuesday.


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