Microsoft Corp said fiscal second-quarter profit rose 3 percent, as strong sales of its Office software to businesses offset another weak quarter for Windows, and as consumers increasingly favor tablets over personal computers.
After the earnings announcement, the company's shares rose 4.4 percent in after-hours trading.
The company sold more than 7 million of its various Xbox consoles and said that revenue from its struggling Surface tablet doubled. But Windows revenue declined, as PC sales remained weak.
(Read more: A window on Microsoft's future?)
Microsoft posted fiscal second-quarter earnings of 78 cents per share. Revenue was $24.52 billion.
Analysts had expected the company to report earnings of 68 cents a share on $23.68 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Over the last few months analysts slightly raised revenue estimates, but reduced them for net income.
Microsoft did not say anything about its five-month search for a new chief executive to replace the retiring Steve Ballmer, which has taken longer than most investors expected.
Its board is still searching for a leader to unify the sprawling technology giant and catapult it into competitive positions in the mobile and tablet markets dominated by Apple and Google.
What is Microsoft stock doing now? (Click here to get the latest quote.)
—Reuters with CNBC.com