Microsoft says quarterly earnings rise, beat estimates

SEATTLE – Microsoft Corp. said Thursday that quarterly earnings rose by 11 percent, exceeding Wall Street estimates.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, Microsoft said it earned $3.48 billion, or 35 cents per share. That compares with earnings of $3.14 billion, or 29 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

The year-earlier results included a one-time legal charge of 2 cents per share.

The Redmond company said revenue for its fiscal first quarter was $10.81 billion, an 11 percent increase over $9.74 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting earnings of 31 cents per share, on revenue of $10.75 billion.

The results were released after the markets closed. Microsoft shares rose 4 cents, or 0.14 percent, to close at $28.35 in regular trading Thursday. They gained 60 cents by 1:30 p.m. in after-hours trading.