Microsoft Reveals Better-Than-Expected Quarterly Earnings, How Will It Cope With Money From Mobile Devices Rather Than PCs?

Microsoft, which recently underwent a massive reorganization, seems to have seen some improvement over the past few days, especially after announcing on Thursday that the company has seen better-than-expected quarterly results.

The company reported a first-quarter profit of $5.2 billion, or 62 cents per share, on revenue of $18.5 billion, according to USA Today. Both numbers are improvements from this time a year ago when Microsoft could only boast a $4.7 billion (53 cents per share) profit on revenue of $16 billion.

Analysts looking at the company only forecast adjusted earnings of 54 cents a share, compared with the 53 cents in the year-ago quarter according to Thomson Reuters. They expected a revenue jump of 11 percent to $17.8 billion for three months ending in Sept. 30.

Analysts believe the company, while experiencing growth, is doing so slowly as a result of the money it is spending on marketing new products like the Surface tablets and on building more data centers for Web services. Sales of the Surface reportedly hit $400 million in the recent quarter.

Once these results were shared, Microsoft's shares went up more than 5 percent to $35.63 in after-hours trading. Many speculate that they'll be seeing a new type of revenue stream from Microsoft and are interested to see how it adapts to increased sales from tablets, online software and smartphones following the dip in its revenue from PC software sales.

Unfortunately, with these variables in complete question all of the heavy lifting on the company's future will happen on the back of whoever it chooses to replace the current CEO Steve Ballmer, who announced he will be stepping down earlier this year.

Microsoft remains a powerhouse in the tech industry, thanks to its sales. It is therefore able to catch rivals like Amazon, Google and Apple in faster-growing businesses such as smartphones, tablets, entertainment and cloud computing, according to co-CEO of Roundarch Isobar, a digital agency that builds consumer experiences for companies such as HBO and Comedy Central.