Tag: Microsoft

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Microsoft Net Income at $20.5 Billion

Satya Nadella-run Microsoft has posted robust revenue of $45.3 billion and a net income of $20.5 billion for the July-September quarter, riding on a strong performance on its cloud, server, and Office businesses.

While revenues were up 22 percent, net income registered 48 percent growth as pandemic forced millions to work and learn from home.

“Digital technology is a deflationary force in an inflationary economy. Businesses — small and large — can improve productivity and the affordability of their products and services by building tech intensity,” said Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft.

“The Microsoft Cloud delivers the end-to-end platforms and tools organisations need to navigate this time of transition and change,” he said in a statement late on Tuesday.

Revenue in Productivity and Business Processes was $15 billion and increased 22 percent.

Office Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 18 percent, driven by Office 365 Commercial revenue growth of 23 percent.

“LinkedIn revenue increased 42 percent, driven by Marketing Solutions growth of 61 percent,” the company informed.

Revenue in Intelligent Cloud was $17 billion and increased 31 percent in the September quarter.

Server products and cloud services revenue increased 35 percent, driven by Azure and other cloud services revenue growth of 50 percent.

“We delivered a strong start to the fiscal year with our Microsoft Cloud generating $20.7 billion in revenue for the quarter, up 36 percent year over year,” said Amy Hood, executive vice president and CFO of Microsoft.

Revenue in the ‘More Personal Computing’ vertical was $13.3 billion and increased 12 percent.

Xbox content and services revenue increased a mere 2 per cent, while Surface laptop revenue decreased 17 percent.

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-Top News China

Microsoft shutters LinkedIn in China

The move comes after the career-networking site faced questions for blocking the profiles of some journalists….reports Asian Lite News

 Microsoft is shutting down its business and employment-oriented online service LinkedIn in China, saying that having to comply with the Chinese state has become increasingly challenging, the BBC reported.

The move comes after the career-networking site faced questions for blocking the profiles of some journalists.

Microsoft will launch a jobs-only version of the site, called InJobs, later this year. But this will not include a social feed or the ability to share or post articles, the report said.

LinkedIn senior vice-president Mohak Shroff wrote in a blog, “We’re facing a significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China.”

LinkedIn was the only major Western social media platform operating in China.

When it launched there in 2014, it had agreed to adhere to the requirements of the Chinese government in order to operate in China but also promised to be transparent about how it conducted business in the country and said it disagreed with government censorship, the report said.

Recently, LinkedIn blacklisted several journalists’ accounts, including those of Melissa Chan and Greg Bruno, from its China-based website.

Bruno, who has written a book documenting China’s treatment of Tibetan refugees, told Verdict that he was not surprised that the Chinese Communist Party did not like it, but was “dismayed that an American tech company is caving into the demands of a foreign government”.

In a letter to LinkedIn chief executive Ryan Roslansky and Microsoft boss Satya Nadella, US Senator Rick Scott called the move a “gross appeasement and an act of submission to Communist China”, the report said.

ALSO READ: India rejects China’s objection to Naidu’s visit to Arunachal

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Microsoft faces subpoena in Google’s antitrust case

Microsoft has provided more than 400,000 documents to civil investigative demands from prosecutors….reports Asian Lite News

Microsoft, which cooperated with the US prosecutors in building a 2020 antitrust case against Google, is now facing a subpoena to produce millions more documents at the request of Googles defense team, the media reported.

According to a report in The Verge on Friday, judge Amit Mehta said that “more information was required before the court could give guidance as to how much internal data Microsoft would be required to produce”.

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) filed an antitrust case against Google in 2020 that focused on anti-competitive behaviour in search and search advertising.

Microsoft has provided more than 400,000 documents to civil investigative demands from prosecutors.

“In a filing before today’s hearing, Google argued that participation entitles the company to a similar range of documents that might be helpful to its defense,” the report noted.

Google first issued a subpoena to Microsoft in April, seeking “older documents that will shed light on whether Microsoft was actually restrained from competing with Google, or whether it simply failed to compete successfully on the merits.”

“But Microsoft agreed to only eight of the 27 executives to be searched, and drastically limited the search strings to which they would be subject”.

Google has now asked for a more powerful court order to compel the production of documents from Microsoft.

In October 2020, the US Justice Department and 11 states sued Google for antitrust violations, alleging that it weaponised its dominance in online search and advertising to kill off competition and harm consumers.

The lawsuit marked the US government’s biggest move since its case against Microsoft more than 20 years ago. This came after 15 months of investigation and could be the opening scene of more antitrust actions against other Big Tech companies.

Google is also facing a new multi-state antitrust lawsuit in the US that accuses the tech giant of abusing its market power to stifle competitors.

The lawsuit, filed by a coalition of 37 attorneys general co-led by New York Attorney General Letitia James earlier this month, alleged that Google is forcing consumers into in-app payments that grant the company a hefty cut.

ALSO READ: NRI Shrina Kurani enters Congressional race from California

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Bill Gates steps down from Microsoft board

“Microsoft received a concern in the latter half of 2019 that Bill Gates sought to initiate an intimate relationship with a company employee in the year 2000,” a Microsoft spokesperson said…reports Asian Lite News.

Gates finally resigned from the Microsoft board in March 2020 before the investigation had been completed, the report said on Sunday. Resignation of Bill Gates in 2020 from Microsoft’s Board of Directors came after the board hired a law firm to investigate a romantic relationship he had with a Microsoft employee that was deemed inappropriate, people familiar with the matter said.
Quoting Wall Street Journal, CNN reported that some Microsoft Directors began an investigation in 2019 into the woman’s allegations of prior sexual relationship with Bill Gates. During the probe, some board members decided it was no longer suitable for Gates to sit as a Director at the software company he started and led for decades, the people said.

Gates resigned before the Board’s investigation was completed and before the full board could make a formal decision on the matter, another person familiar with the matter said, reported Wall Street Journal.
“Microsoft received a concern in the latter half of 2019 that Bill Gates sought to initiate an intimate relationship with a company employee in the year 2000,” a Microsoft spokesperson said.
“A committee of the Board reviewed the concern, aided by an outside law firm to conduct a thorough investigation. Throughout the investigation, Microsoft provided extensive support to the employee who raised the concern.”

Bill and Melinda Gates announce to end marriage after 27 years. (ANI)

Meanwhile, Gates’s spokeswoman refuted the allegations and said the decision to leave board in 2020 was not related to the matter.
A spokesperson for Gates said, “There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably.” The spokesperson said his “decision to transition off the board was in no way related to this matter. In fact, he had expressed an interest in spending more time on his philanthropy starting several years earlier,” reported Wall Street Journal. The spokesperson said the “claim of mistreatment of employees is also false,” and that “the rumours and speculation surrounding Gates’ divorce are becoming increasingly absurd and it’s unfortunate that people who have little to no knowledge of the situation are being characterized as ‘sources’.”

Bill Gates (ANI)

Earlier this month, Melinda Gates — Bill Gates’ wife and co-founder of their foundation — filed for divorce after 27 years of marriage. In a statement announcing their split, the couple said, “after a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage.” (ANI)

ALSO READ- Tokyo Olympics depend on vaccination: Bill Gates

READ MORE- Musk Overtakes Bill Gates as World’s Second Richest

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Bill and Melinda Gates part ways

The mega-billionaire couple have three children and jointly run the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation…reports Asian Lite News

The mega-billionaire couple Bill and Melinda Gates, who have emerged as a philanthropy powerhouse with a foundation named after themselves, are divorcing because their 27-year marriage has “irretrievably broken”.

According to TMZ, a media outlet that is up on celebrity affairs, Melinda Gates filed for the divorce asserting that their marriage was “irretrievably broken”.

TMZ, which said it had seen the filings in a Seattle court, the couple, who jointly run the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, does not have a pre-nuptial agreement on splitting their wealth that many ultra-wealthy couples make to lessen the likelihood of disputes should they break up.

But according to People magazine, they will have a separation agreement to divide their wealth.

Bill and Melinda Gates(Wikipedia)

Melinda Gates filed for a temporary order that would prevent either of them from disposing property or making changes to insurance policies unless they agreed in writing or court ordered it, the magazine reported.

She is not asking for any payment of spousal support, it added.

Also read:Gates Foundation to roll out $250mn for Covid research

Since their three children, son Rory John, 21, and daughters Phoebe Adele, 18, and Jennifer Katharine, 25, are all adults, they will not have the headache of child custody arrangements.

Bill, who is one of the richest people in the world, has often emphasized in interviews that his children should only inherit a small part of his wealth.

The financial magazine Forbes has estimated he is worth more than $100 billion.


Earlier on Monday, a joint statement posted on Twitter by the Microsoft founder said: “After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage.

“Over the last 27 years we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives.

“We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundations, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.”

According to reports, Melinda Gates was an employee of Microsoft where she met Bill Gates.

They first met for a dinner in 1987 and later began dating leading to their marriage on New Year’s Day in 1994.

However, there was another woman lurking in Bill Gates’s life, according to the reports.

He had an unusual arrangement with his wife that allowed him while they were married to spend a long weekend with his former girlfriend Ann Winblad every year, according to Time magazine.

Gates and Winblad, who was five years his senior, had broken off in 1987 because she was ready for marriage, but he wasn’t, according to the magazine. But they stayed in touch.

Speaking to the magazine for a 1997 article, he said, “When I was off on my own thinking about marrying Melinda, I called Ann and asked for her approval.”

Bill and Melinda Gates are the second ultra-rich couple to split up in the US.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott divorced in 2019.

Also read:Tokyo Olympics depend on vaccination: Bill Gates