Microsoft Beats the Street

Handily, too:

Sometimes, being a fast follower works. Microsoft Corp. posted double-digit percentage increases in both revenue and profit, even as rivals such as cloud pioneer Amazon.com Inc. reported weaker results, the WSJ’s Shira Ovide reports. (More on that below.) Microsoft said revenue from software and other services sold to corporations—which generate roughly two-thirds of Microsoft’s gross profit—increased 10% and that its cloud sales more than doubled, led by Office 365. As technology and the competition have raced ahead, Microsoft has persistently tried one response after another, often getting things wrong, but never giving up.

Pretty sure this is where Microsoft’s future lies, without the distraction of making unloved consumer devices. The exception of course is Xbox, which probably needs a large parent company to give it the backend services and development investments it requires for continued success.