Microsoft Corp.'s second-quarter revenue growth may have slipped to as little as 4 percent as product delays hurt U.S. orders and sales in countries such as Russia and China were crimped by software piracy.
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft later today may report revenue of $10.6 billion, according to the average estimate of 22 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. The three top-ranked analysts said sales would grow at least 6 percent, down from 19 percent a year earlier. In October, Microsoft said net income would be 28 cents a share, up from 14 cents when results were damped by the cost of stock option sales.
The slower growth reflects Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer's decision to push back the new version of Windows, prompting some customers to delay upgrades. Revenue gains from Windows probably slowed to 5 percent from 21 percent, Microsoft said in October. The world's biggest software maker lost out on sales in the fastest-growing personal-computer markets where piracy rates exceed 70 percent.
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