Stock Market

Microsoft (MSFT) announced earnings after the bell on Thursday, and Friday saw the company’s shares zoom to 11% on the good news. The tech giant announced profits across the board, with PC sales driving orders for Office, Vista, and other programs. Halo 3 also helped the company add to its quarterly profits. The game has brought in $330 million since it was released.

Analysts were expecting something in the neighborhood of $0.39 per share, but the company easily surpassed those numbers, posting $0.45 EPS. The near future looks good for the software manufacturer as well. The company believes that orders for Vista will be up over the next few months, as corporate clients begin to upgrade now that many of Vista’s bugs have been patched.

On Thursday, MSFT was trading up around 2% for most of the day and closed at $31.99. After the earnings report, the price shot up in after hours trading, and opened Friday morning at $35.92. During the day, it vacillated between 9-11% before closing at $35.03.

This article at thestreet.com has a breakdown of all the profits for the company’s different divisions.

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