The joy over Microsoft Corp’s figures was occasioned by the perception that without any super-hot new products out there, the company had returned to something approaching the super-fast growth track of last fiscal year after warning darkly that things could not go on like that, and seeming to prove it with more modest growth in the first two quarters of this fiscal; the headline numbers were spoilt by the Stac Electronics Inc litigation charge; the operating earnings of $1.11 a share compared with a Wall Street consensus of $1.01, and analysts commented that the company seemed to expect sales to remain strong even as the effects fade from its most recent upgrade cycle for its core applications, with Office prospering and the Windows business continuing to do well.
