REDMOND , Wash. — Jan . 2 7 , 2014 — Bing.com and FOX News Channel (FNC) are teaming up again on the Bing Pulse online voting tool for the State of the Union address and Republican response on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 9 p.m. EST. The first-of-its-kind technology, which was introduced during the 2013 State of the Union, enables viewers to track and share their opinions and reactions in real time via their smartphone, PC or tablet. For the 2013 State of the Union, the Bing Pulse received 12.9 million votes during the address. Live results were also shown on FNC.

During the address and the response, people will be able to not only provide their feedback, but also look at the Bing Pulse online or on FNC to see what other viewers think of both the speech and the Republican response in real time as the remarks are being delivered. The Bing Pulse also provides an intensity score, which highlights the key moments of the address or when the greatest numbers of viewers vote at the same time. New this year is an online annotated graphing feature that enables people with one click to understand exactly what was said during those polling spikes. Also new this year are poll questions about some of the key topics in the speeches.

“We deployed the Bing Pulse for the 2013 State of the Union because we thought it was the perfect tool to give people an opportunity to react in real time to the address,” said Mark Penn, executive vice president of Advertising and Strategy at Microsoft. “Over the course of 59 minutes, we conducted the largest live online poll in history with 12.9 million votes registered. That response showed how much people want to make their voices heard during significant political moments. This year, we’re adding more features and are covering the Republican response as well.”

In addition to teaming up with FNC for its State of the Union coverage, the Bing Pulse runs three nights a week on “Special Report with Bret Baier” (6 p.m. EST). According to Nielsen, “Special Report” delivers on average 2.2 million viewers a night with Bing Pulse drawing over half a million votes per week.

How i t w orks

The Bing Pulse allows people to share their opinion of the State of the Union by “voting” every five seconds on their reactions to the content of the speech. Viewers simply go to Bing.com/politics from a computer, tablet or mobile device to connect with the poll while watching the president’s address or Republican response on television or through a live feed on the Bing.com/politics hub.

Unlike typical polls, Bing Pulse allows people to self-identify by gender and political party affiliation to provide additional aggregate data analysis to the results shown online and on FNC.

As the speeches progress, viewers have five choices to characterize how they are feeling about what they are hearing: strongly agree, somewhat agree, neutral, somewhat disagree and strongly disagree. The live count of the number of “pulses,” or votes, becomes a line graph of how users react to the State of the Union, as well as the Republican response throughout both speeches, and will be visible on the television screen on FNC. Viewers watching the speech on other networks can have a robust State of the Union companion experience by participating in the Bing Pulse and seeing the live poll results online. During the course of the speeches, the Bing Pulse online poll results will be updated every few seconds on FNC with data also available at Bing.com/politics. More in-depth news and analysis will be available at http://www.foxnews.com/sotu.

Comprehensive, n onpartisan State of the Union e xperience

The Bing Pulse is part of a comprehensive, nonpartisan State of the Union experience on Bing.com/politics and on FNC. In addition to the Bing Pulse, the site provides a single destination for up-to-the-minute political news, expert information and real-time conversations on major policy issues. Bing.com/politics features include these:

• A live feed of President Obama’s State of the Union address and the Republican response

• An annotated graph allowing users to see what parts of the State of the Union are soaring and what parts are tanking

• Real-time news results using the Bing news filter that helps people navigate the news by filtering coverage from left-leaning and right-leaning sources

• A live feed of social conversations on Twitter so people can stay informed on what leading political pundits are saying about the speech

About Bing

Bing is the search engine from Microsoft. It was introduced in 2009 with a mission to empower people with knowledge — to answer any question and provide useful tools to help you best accomplish your goals, from the everyday to the extraordinary. Bing continues on that mission today by moving beyond the search box to power intelligent experiences across a range of devices and services from Microsoft and third parties.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

Note to reporters covering the State of the Union: Bing will provide insights from the Bing Pulse during and following the State of the Union. To receive this information, follow us on Twitter at #BingSOTU.

DAVOS, Switzerland — Jan. 24, 2014 — A new global survey of Internet users conducted by Microsoft Corp. reveals distinct regional findings and differing viewpoints between the developed and developing world. However, overwhelmingly the more than 10,000 people surveyed from 10 nations said they embrace personal technology, particularly in emerging markets, and see it as the foundation of innovation and economic empowerment.

Microsoft unveiled the results of its new survey today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in the report titled, “Views from Around the Globe: How Personal Technology is Changing Our Lives.”

Mark Penn, Microsoft Executive Vice President of Advertising and Strategy, presented the poll’s findings followed by a panel discussion moderated by award-winning journalist and author Maria Bartiromo. The panel included Marc R. Benioff, chairman and CEO, Salesforce.com; Maurice Lévy, chairman and CEO, Publicis Group; Bill McDermott, co-CEO, SAP; Alan Murray, president, Pew Research Center; and former U.S. Treasury Secretary and current Charles W. Elliot university professor, Harvard University, Lawrence H. Summers.

“Whether you live in a world capital or a remote village, personal technology is seen as empowering and as a vehicle to individual economic growth,” Penn said. “Despite varying rates of personal technology adoption and cultural differences, there is an overwhelming sense globally that improvements are being experienced across the board.”

Among the key findings of the study are these:

• A majority of the people surveyed around the world believe that personal technology has the most positive impact on innovation in business and empowering people to start a new business.

• People surveyed in developing countries — especially Brazil, Russia, India and China — believe that personal technology is creating job opportunities and helping bridge economic gaps.

• People in China say that personal technology has positively impacted personal freedom more than people in any other country surveyed.

• Those in developing countries — especially India — say that personal technology is improving education, health and healthcare.

• In Brazil, people say that personal technology had a strong impact on arts and culture.

• In China and India, they say their quality of life has improved due to personal technology.

Although personal technology was seen overwhelmingly as a positive force in both developed and developing countries, there were concerns that focused on personal safety and security, family bonds, and, most significantly, privacy. Interestingly, the survey found that the developing countries are more willing to trade privacy for security. Despite privacy concerns, however, nearly three-quarters of parents around the world want their children to have more, not less, access to personal technology. This is particularly true in developing countries, where parents are especially supportive of increased access to technology. Opinions are mixed in developed countries, where more parents feel there should be limits to technology access.

About the poll

The Microsoft poll was conducted between Dec. 26, 2013, and Jan. 3, 2014, and surveyed 10,009 Internet users in the United States, France, Brazil, Russia, China, India, Japan, Germany, Mexico and Turkey. The results were then weighted based on the size of the Internet populations in each of the 10 countries. The full survey findings and comprehensive analysis of the poll can be found at http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2014/01/23/personal-technology-is-changing-lives-around-the-world-what-we-learned-from-talking-to-10-000-people-in-10-countries.aspx.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

REDMOND, Wash. — January 23, 2014 — Microsoft Corp. today announced revenue of $24.52 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2013. Gross margin, operating income, net income, and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $16.24 billion, $7.97 billion, $6.56 billion, and $0.78 per share, respectively.

The following table reconciles these financial results reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) to non-GAAP financial results. We have provided this non-GAAP financial information to aid investors in better understanding the company’s performance.

Downloads: Web

“Our Commercial segment continues to outpace the overall market, and our Devices and Consumer segment had a great holiday quarter,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft. “The investments we are making in devices and services that deliver high-value experiences to our customers, and the work we are doing with our partners, are driving strong results and positioning us well for long-term growth.”

“We delivered record revenue as demand for our business offerings remains high and we made strong progress in our Devices and Consumer segment,” said Amy Hood, chief financial officer at Microsoft. “These results reflect our focus on execution, cost discipline, and long-term shareholder value as we continue to drive the strategic transformation of the company.”

Devices and Consumer revenue grew 13% to $11.91 billion.

• Windows OEM revenue declined 3%, reflecting strong 12% growth in Windows OEM Pro revenue, offset by continued softness in the consumer PC market.

• Surface revenue more than doubled sequentially, from $400 million in the first quarter to $893 million in the second quarter.

• The company sold 7.4 million Xbox console units into the retail channel, including 3.9 million Xbox One consoles and 3.5 million Xbox 360 consoles.

• Bing search share grew to 18.2% and search advertising revenue grew 34%.

Commercial revenue grew 10% to $12.67 billion.

• SQL Server continued to gain market share with revenue growing double-digits.

• System Center showed continued strength with double-digit revenue growth.

• Commercial cloud services revenue more than doubled.

• Office 365 commercial seats and Azure customers both grew triple-digits.

"We significantly outpaced enterprise IT spend as we continue to take share from our competitors by delivering the devices and services our customers need as they transition to the cloud,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft. “Our commercial cloud services revenue grew more than 100% year-over-year, as customers are embracing Office 365, Azure, and Dynamics CRM Online, and making long-term commitments to the Microsoft platform.”

Business Outlook

Microsoft will provide forward-looking guidance in connection with this quarterly earnings announcement on its earnings conference call and webcast detailed below.

Webcast Details

Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Frank Brod, chief accounting officer, and Chris Suh, general manager of Investor Relations, will host a conference call and webcast at 2:30 p.m. PST (5:30 p.m. EST) today to discuss details of the company’s performance for the quarter and certain forward-looking information. The session may be accessed at http://www.microsoft.com/investor/. The webcast will be available for replay through the close of business on January 23, 2015.

Adjusted Financial Results and Non-GAAP Measures

During the second quarter of fiscal year 2013, GAAP revenue, operating income, and diluted earnings per share included the net deferral of $1.3 billion of revenue for the Windows Upgrade Offer, the Office Upgrade Offer and Pre-sales, and the Video Game Deferral, and the recognition of previously deferred revenue of $783 million for Windows 8 Pre-sales. These items are defined below. In addition to these financial results reported in accordance with GAAP, we have provided certain non-GAAP financial information to aid investors in better understanding the company’s performance. Presenting these measures without the impact of these items gives additional insight into operational performance and helps clarify trends affecting the company’s business. For comparability of reporting, management considers this information in conjunction with GAAP amounts in evaluating business performance. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, the measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Non-GAAP Definitions

Revenue deferred on sales of Windows 7 with an option to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro at a discounted price (“Windows Upgrade Offer”).

Revenue deferred on pre-sales of Windows 8 to OEMs and retailers before general availability (“Windows 8 Pre-sales”).

Revenue deferred on sales of the previous version of the Microsoft Office system with a guarantee to be upgraded to the new Office at minimal or no cost and pre-sales of the new Office to OEMs and retailers before general availability (collectively, the “Office Deferral”).

Revenue deferred on sales of video games with the right to receive specified software upgrades/enhancements (“Video Game Deferral”).

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this release that are “forward-looking statements” are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors such as:

• intense competition in all of Microsoft’s markets;

• increasing focus on services presents execution and competitive risks;

• significant investments in new products and services that may not be profitable;

• acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances, including our acquisition of Nokia’s Devices and Services business, may have an adverse effect on our business;

• Microsoft’s continued ability to protect its intellectual property rights;

• claims that Microsoft has infringed the intellectual property rights of others;

• the possibility of unauthorized disclosure of significant portions of Microsoft’s source code;

• cyber-attacks and security vulnerabilities in Microsoft products that could reduce revenue or lead to liability;

• disclosure of personal data that could result in liability and harm to Microsoft’s reputation;

• outages, data losses, and disruptions of our online services if we fail to maintain an adequate operations infrastructure;

• government litigation and regulation that may limit how Microsoft designs and markets its products;

• Microsoft’s ability to attract and retain talented employees;

• delays in product development and related product release schedules;

• adverse economic or market conditions may harm our business;

• adverse results in legal disputes;

• unanticipated tax liabilities;

• our hardware and software products may experience quality or supply problems;

• impairment of goodwill or amortizable intangible assets causing a charge to earnings;

• exposure to increased economic and regulatory uncertainties from operating a global business; and

• catastrophic events or geo-political conditions may disrupt our business.

For more information about risks and uncertainties associated with Microsoft’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of Microsoft’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Microsoft’s Investor Relations department at (800) 285-7772 or at Microsoft’s Investor Relations website at http://www.microsoft.com/investor/.

All information in this release is as of January 23, 2014. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the company’s expectations.

For more information, financial analysts and investors only:

Chris Suh, general manager, Investor Relations, (425) 706-4400

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news/. Web links, telephone numbers, and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. Shareholder and financial information, as well as today’s 2:30 p.m. PST conference call with investors and analysts, is available at http://www.microsoft.com/investor/.

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