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4:34pm 07/18/02
Microsoft beats earnings target (MSFT) By Mike Tarsala
Microsoft (MSFT) earned $1.53 billion, or 28 cents a share, up from $65 million, or a penny a share, on sales of $7.25 billion, up 10 percent from last year. Earnings for the company's fiscal-second quarter included an after-tax charge for investment impairments of $806 million, or 15 cents. Excluding the charge, Microsoft earned 43 cents a share. Analysts had been expecting Microsoft to report earnings of 42 cents a share, on sales of $7.1 billion, according to a consensus of 24 analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call. Shares of Microsoft lost 89 cents to $51.11 ahead of its earnings announcement.
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