Microsoft beats expectations with record revenue

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Microsoft on Thursday reported that its net income hit $5.11 billion on record-high revenue in the recently ended quarter.

"We're driving toward exciting launches across the entire company, while delivering strong financial results," said chief executive Steve Ballmer.

"With the upcoming release of new Windows 8 PCs and tablets, the next version of Office, and a wide array of products and services for the enterprise and consumers, we will be delivering exceptional value to all our customers in the year ahead."

The software titan's stock price quickly jumped more nearly three percent to $31.90 a share after the release of results that beat Wall Street expectations and boasted unprecedented third-quarter revenue of $17.41 billion.

Sales of programs tailored for businesses and interest in software hosted as services in the Internet "cloud" lifted revenue despite continued weakness in the consumer market and softened demand for Xbox 360 videogame consoles.

"We continue to execute well across our businesses, and we are seeing robust demand for our enterprise products and services," said Microsoft chief operating officer Kevin Turner.

"Our investments and offerings in the database platform and public, private, and hybrid cloud are helping our customers transform their operations to meet today's evolving business demands."