CALDEIRÃO DE BOLSA

Uma das possibilidades dos Índices subirem é de que as previsões, muito por baixo, serem a cima do previsto.
Um bom resultado foi o primeiro a ser conhecido, General Eléctrica. Embora...
Vamos ver para crer.
R. Martins

Microsoft Posts Profit, Outlook Cautious
Tue April 15, 2003 04:33 PM ET
SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O on Tuesday posted quarterly earnings above expectations on higher revenue, but it issued a cautious outlook amid a persistent slump in information technology spending.
The world's largest software maker reported a net profit of $2.79 billion, or 26 cents per share, for its fiscal third quarter ended March 31, compared with $2.74 billion, or 25 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts had forecast a profit of 24 cents per share.

Revenues rose to $7.84 billion from $7.25 billion a year earlier, compared with the $7.75 billion projected by analysts polled by Thomson First Call.

Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, forecast that revenues for the next fiscal year ending in June 2004 would be between $33.1 billion and $33.8 billion, short of the average analyst forecast of $34.9 billion as tracked by Multex.

The company also forecast full-year earnings for the next fiscal year of between $1.04 and $1.06 per share, also short of the Wall Street expectation for $1.08 per share.

For the current fiscal fourth quarter, Microsoft forecast earnings per share of 23 cents to 24 cents on revenue of $7.8 billion to $7.9 billion, in line with or slightly below the average Wall Street analyst forecast.

Microsoft has shielded itself from the prolonged tech sector slump over the past year with a new subscription-style pricing plan that has cushioned sales, but analysts have warned that the maker of Windows software may start to feel some pain as the one-off benefits of that shift begin to fade.

Microsoft has also been investing billions to seek new growth outside its core business of selling software for personal computers.

Microsoft shares were higher in after-hours trade, hitting $25.56 on the Instinet system, up from a Nasdaq close of $24.61.