Microsoft has announced a 5% increase from the sales of Windows licenses to third-party computer manufacturers. The company’s CFO, Amy Hood, pointed to that number as evidence Windows PCs are making inroads into the high-end computer market dominated by Apple.
As Business Insider notes, Microsoft defines ‘premium devices’ as computers costing $900+, which is significantly above the mainstream consumer market for Windows laptops but is a starting point below the entry-level for Macs.
Hood’s comments came during a webcast for the Redmond firm’s Fiscal 2017 second quarter earnings, for the quarter ended December 31, 2016.
Their FY17 Q2 results were as follows:
- Revenue was $24.1 billion GAAP, and $26.1 billion non-GAAP
- Operating income was $6.2 billion GAAP, and $8.2 billion non-GAAP
- Net income was $5.2 billion GAAP, and $6.5 billion non-GAAP
- Diluted earnings per share was $0.66 GAAP, and $0.83 non-GAAP
No Hard Numbers
While Microsoft didn’t offer up any hard numbers on said sales growth or market share gain, its claim jibes with Apple’s own numbers showing the first year-over-year Mac sales decline since 2001. Recent sales estimates for 2016 from Gartner and IDC show Apple has dropped to number 5 in computer sales.
Microsoft’s claim is about third-party PCs, and do not include sales of their own Surface range of touchscreen laptops. The company has previously claimed the Surface is attracting more former Mac users than ever before, but they haven’t released any specific numbers backing up the claim.
