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Microsoft 3Q Profit Jumps 65 Percent
Thursday April 26, 11:53 pm ET
By Jessica Mintz, AP Business Writer
Microsoft 3Q Profit Rises 65 Percent, Helped by Sales of New Versions of Windows and Office

SEATTLE (AP) -- Microsoft Corp.'s fiscal third-quarter profit jumped 65 percent, buoyed by sales of its new versions of Windows and Office and by upgrade coupons for the operating system issued over the holidays.

Microsoft forecast earnings of $1.68 to $1.72 per share for fiscal 2008, with revenue of $56.5 billion to $57.5 billion. Analysts are predicting a profit of $1.69 per share on $56.24 billion in sales.

"I think it's a very good quarter, but more importantly, guidance is essentially in line with what the Street is expecting," said Sarah Friar, an analyst at Goldman Sachs. "Everyone was so terrified guidance would have some sort of issue."

Shares of Microsoft jumped $1.20, or 4.1 percent, to $30.30 in after-hours electronic trading, after adding 11 cents to close at $29.10 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.