• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

3

Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

3

Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
TechFortune 500

Continuing fallout from Nokia, slow PC sales, ding Microsoft

Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 21, 2015, 6:52 PM ET
Key Speakers At The Microsoft Build Developer 2015 Conference
Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp., speaks during a keynote session at the Microsoft Developers Build Conference in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, April 29, 2015. Microsoft Corp. and Adobe Systems Inc. are making it easier for their customers to share data, as they and other software makers expand their product offerings to include marketing tools and technologies. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by David Paul Morris — Bloomberg/Getty Images

Putting aside the continuing reverberations from its $7.2 billion buyout of Nokia and the related $3.2 billion loss it just posted, Microsoft accentuated the positive on the company’s fourth quarter earnings call Tuesday.

For one thing, Microsoft(MSFT) chief executive officer Satya Nadella promised that the company’s Bing search business will “transition to profitability” in the current fiscal year. Bing, which competes with market-leader Google(GOOG) search, has been a controversial business for Microsoft which has resisted analyst calls to sell it off or kill it.

But Microsoft stuck to its guns, noting that Bing technology brings important insights that can be applied to other businesses. The company maintains that Bing holds about 20% of the searches in the U.S.

Nadella also expressed hope that Windows 10, “just days away” from its official July 29 launch, “will return Windows to growth.” The goal, reiterated on the call, is for the new operating system to run 10 billion devices by 2018. For the quarter ending June 30, Windows volume licensing revenue was off 2% year over year; a reminder that for all its talk of cloud services and mobility, Microsoft, like Intel(INTC), remains somewhat hardwired to the overall PC and laptop market. Which, in case you hadn’t noticed, is pretty sickly.

As for Azure, the company’s linchpin public cloud, and its other commercial cloud products like Office 365 and Dynamics CRM, the whole kit-and-caboodle is now allegedly on an $8 billion annual run rate. Nadella claimed the company is selling 1 million new consumer Office 365 subscriptions per month. He and chief financial officer Amy Hood also said the company remains on track to meet a previously stated goal to achieve a $20 billion run rate in that business by 2018.

Nadella said that the combined Dynamics CRM and ERP products already constitute a $2.5 billion business. Asked if Dynamics CRM can compete with a huge incumbent (presumably market leader Salesforce (CRM) ), Nadella said the opportunity is huge in a market that, below the biggest enterprise accounts, is very fragmented. Microsoft bought FieldOne last week to bolster its field sales efforts there.

Overall, however, it was hard to get away from the toll Nokia has taken. Microsoft had pre-announced a $750 million charge to cover the cost of 7,800 Nokia-related layoffs as well as a $7.6 billion write down of the deal based on revised expectations for that mobile business going forward.

Accordingly, the software giant posted the aforementioned $3.2 billion loss (or 40 cents per share) compared to last year’s earnings of $4.61 billion, or 55 cents per share. Excluding the charge, Microsoft claimed an adjusted earnings per share of 62 cents, which came in above consensus of estimates of 56 cents.

Subscribe to Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the business of technology.

For more on Microsoft, check out the following Fortune video:

 

 

About the Author
Barb Darrow
By Barb Darrow
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

gen z
AIGen Z
3 reasons kids hate AI—especially the ones who refuse to even try it
By Nick LichtenbergMay 20, 2026
3 minutes ago
Accenture exec says the consulting giant is hiring more entry-level workers out of college compared to last year
Future of WorkWorkplace Innovation Summit
Accenture exec says the consulting giant is hiring more entry-level workers out of college compared to last year
By Emma BurleighMay 20, 2026
50 minutes ago
cohen
Startups & VentureAI agents
Meet the brothers who turned a homegrown AI agent into a $12 million bet on the future of work — in six weeks
By Nick LichtenbergMay 20, 2026
1 hour ago
Current price of Ethereum for May 20, 2026
Personal FinanceEthereum
Current price of Ethereum for May 20, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 20, 2026
2 hours ago
microsoft
AIProductivity
America’s new AI map shows something surprising: ‘A lot of normal people are adopting AI’
By Nick LichtenbergMay 20, 2026
2 hours ago
Variational co-founders Edward Yu and Lucas Schuermann pose for a picture
CryptoCryptocurrency
Variational raises $50 million Series A to bring liquidity from traditional markets to blockchain rails
By Jack KubinecMay 20, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
18 hours ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
8 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
Future of Work
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
3 days ago
Employers are quietly pausing 401(k) matches again. The last time this happened was the 2008 recession and Covid
Personal Finance
Employers are quietly pausing 401(k) matches again. The last time this happened was the 2008 recession and Covid
By Courtney Vinopal and HR BrewMay 18, 2026
2 days ago
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
Travel & Leisure
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
By Rio Yamat and The Associated PressMay 18, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.