Microsoft managed to
emerge somewhat unscathed from the first quarter’s PC sales decline as it handily topped analysts’ fiscal third-quarter consensus and posted profits that grew 20% over the same period last year. The company’s stock climbed in after-hours trading as CFO Peter Klein, who is
leaving the company at the end of the current fiscal year, made some intriguing comments about future products. For one thing, Klein suggested that earlier rumors about
Microsoft bringing the Start button back in its Windows 8.1 update due later this year are accurate. The executive also hinted that
Microsoft is prepping smaller
Surface tablets that will launch later this year to combat Apple’s
iPad mini and Amazon’s latest Kindle Fire lineup.
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