Microsoft isn't too worried about Intel's CPU shortage as long as PCs can run Windows

Intel's CPU shortages have affected many vendors including Asus, HP, Lenovo, and even Microsoft who said in January that low shipment volumes of 14 nm chips has affected Windows license sales. This week, the Redmond-giant held a call about its FY19 Q3 earnings and felt that Intel's CPU shortage is no longer a cause for worry and expressed optimism for Q4.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that Windows is already installed on 800 million devices and continues to do well in the enterprise as the "most secure and productive operating system". Earlier this month, Gartner reported that worldwide consumer PC shipments for Q1 2019 have gone down due to Intel's supply woes but the enterprise was relatively unaffected, which explains Nadella's assessment of Windows sales in this sector.

While Intel's supply constraints are expected to intensity in the next quarter, Microsoft's executive VP and CFO Amy Hood doesn't see Intel's CPU shortage as much of a "pent up situation heading into Q4". She said,

We feel good about the supply in the Commercial segment and the Premium Consumer segment, which is where the vast majority of our revenue is in OEM. And so I think in those segments, we feel fine for Q4"

Microsoft's optimism is not without reason and frankly, the company does not seem to be much bothered as long as any given hardware can run Windows. AMD has made good inroads into the mainstream desktop market and has also made perceivable progress in the laptop space. Windows 10 on ARM has led ARM chip makers like Qualcomm to offer dedicated SoCs although, the market hasn't really managed to take off as expected.