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Mit dem Abschluss dieses Quartals endete bei Microsoft auch das Geschäftsjahr 2004. Hier erzielte man einen Gesamtumsatz von 36,84 Milliarden US-Dollar und einen Nettogewinn von 8,17 Prozent. Für das kommende Geschäftsjahr geht Microsoft von einem Umsatz zwischen 38,4 und 38,8 Milliarden US-Dollar sowie einem Betriebsgewinn von 16,3 Milliarden US-Dollar aus. Interessierte können das Geschäftsergebnis in einer PowerPoint-Präsentation (2,1 MByte) bewundern. Pressemitteilung Microsoft Reports Strong Fourth Quarter Earnings Redmond, Wash. – July 22, 2004 – Microsoft Corp. today announced revenue of USD 9.29 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2004, a 15% increase over revenue of USD 8.07 billion for the same period in the prior year. Operating income for the fourth quarter was USD 3.13 billion, which included stock-based compensation expense of USD 739 million (pre-tax). This compares to operating income of USD 1.54 billion for the fourth quarter of the prior fiscal year, which included stock-based compensation expense of USD 665 million (pre-tax) and charges of USD 796 million (pre-tax) primarily related to the settlement of the Time Warner lawsuit. Net income for the fourth quarter was USD 2.69 billion including a USD 208 million tax benefit from the reversal of previously accrued taxes. This compares to net income of USD 1.48 billion reported in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. Diluted earnings per share for the quarter were USD 0.25 which included after-tax charges of USD 0.05 in stock-based compensation expense and a USD 0.02 tax benefit from the reversal of previously accrued taxes. This compares to diluted earnings per share of USD 0.14 in the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year which included after-tax charges of USD 0.04 in stock-based compensation expense and USD 0.05 primarily related to settlement of the Time Warner lawsuit. The company also announced revenue of USD 36.84 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2004, a 14% increase over the USD 32.19 billion reported last year. Net income for fiscal year 2004 was USD 8.17 billion and diluted earnings per share were USD 0.75, which included after-tax charges for stock-based compensation expense of USD 0.35, charges of USD 0.17 related to the Sun Microsystems settlement and a fine imposed by the European Commission, and a tax benefit of USD 0.02. For the previous fiscal year, net income and diluted earnings per share were USD 7.53 billion and USD 0.69, which included after-tax charges of USD 0.23 for stock-based compensation expense, charges for investment impairments of USD 0.07, charges related to legal settlements of USD 0.06 and a tax benefit of USD 0.01. “We had a great quarter with 15% revenue growth as all of our businesses met or exceeded our expectations and our progress on cost efficacy delivered higher operating margins overall,” said John Connors, chief financial officer at Microsoft. “Fiscal 2004 was a banner year – revenue grew 14% on strong performances from each of our seven businesses, our emerging business operating margins improved, and we resolved a significant portion of our legal exposure. Entering into the new fiscal year, we announced our intention to provide up to USD 75 billion in value to shareholders over the next four years and we’re confident that we’ll continue to grow through innovation and delivering value to our customers.” Server and Tools grew 20% compared to the prior fourth quarter. The record-level of revenue was driven by broad platform strength, including 20% growth in new Windows Server™ license units and increasing demand for enterprise editions of the company’s core server products. Microsoft SQL Server™ and Microsoft® Exchange enjoyed revenue growth rates of over 20%. “Fueled by strong demand for Windows Server 2003, we saw broad strength across our server products, including Small Business Server, Microsoft SQL Server and Exchange,” said Kevin Johnson, Group Vice President Worldwide Sales Marketing and Services. Information Worker revenue grew 23% compared to the previous fourth quarter as momentum for the Microsoft Office System of products continued across all customer segments due to strength in volume licensing and OEM sales. Customers acquiring Microsoft Office during the quarter included JDS Uniphase Corporation, The World Bank and Xerox Corporation. MSN® posted its first-ever profitable year, moving from a USD 567 million loss in fiscal year 2003 to a USD 121 million operating profit in fiscal year 2004, a turnaround of almost USD 690 million which underscores the strength of the company’s focus on its best of breed advertising platform and improved operational efficiency. “We are very proud of our hard work and the progress we’ve made in MSN. We’ve been able to drive our business to profitability while continuing to invest in making the MSN customer experience the best on the Web,” said David Cole, senior vice-president of MSN and personal services division. Earlier this week, the company announced that its board of directors approved an USD 0.08 per share quarterly dividend, plans to buy back up to USD 30 billion of the company’s stock over the next four years, and a special one-time dividend of USD 3.00 per share. The payment of the special dividend is subject to shareholder approval of stock plan amendments that will allow certain adjustments to employee stock-based compensation awards to offset the impact of the special one-time dividend. Business Outlook Management offers the following guidance for the quarter ending September 30, 2004:

• Revenue is expected to be in the range of USD 8.9 billion and USD 9.0 billion.
• Operating income is expected to be in the range of USD 3.7 billion and USD 3.8 billion, including stock-based compensation expense of approximately USD 750 million.
• Diluted earnings per share are expected to be USD 0.25, including after-tax stock-based compensation expense of approximately USD 0.05.

Management offers the following guidance for the full fiscal year ending June 30, 2005:

• Revenue is expected to be in the range of USD 38.4 billion and USD 38.8 billion.
• Operating income is expected to be in the range of USD 16.1 billion and USD 16.5 billion, including stock-based compensation expense of approximately USD 2.5 billion.
• Diluted earnings per share are expected to be between USD 1.05 and USD 1.08, including after-tax stock-based compensation expense of approximately USD 0.16.