Microsoft has posted its Q3 results for its 2019 financial year and they make for impressive reading. Total revenue for the quarter was US$30.6 billion for the months of January, February and March combined representing a 14 percent increase year-over-year. Its cloud business continues to be a backbone of its business with revenue of US$9.6 billion while Windows OEM revenue jumped 9 percent and Xbox hardware and services up 5 percent.
Although not its biggest bread winner by some margin, Microsoft's Surface hardware sales were up 21 percent compared to the same time last year. The entire range is strong across the board and this was reflected in sales topping US$1.3 billion. It is now the seventh quarter in a row where its Surface hardware sales have topped US$1 billion with aggressive pricing strategies including flash discounting helping to boost unit sales. It is now one of the top 5 PC hardware vendors in the US.
The Surface Pro 6 line is its most popular, offering a good combination of performance, battery life and portability. With Intel’s ninth-generation silicon just announced, we can expect the Surface Pro 7 to emerge in the next quarter or two. With any luck, Microsoft might also continuing to expand the availability of USB-C across its lineup with the port currently on available on the Surface Go.