14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft doesn’t like to talk about the number of Windows 8 licenses sold since launch, but the company has finally provided more information in its annual proxy statement.
While it again refuses to unveil any specifics, it did confirm that sales were below expectations for both Windows 8 and the Surface RT.
"The company faced challenges due to weakness in the consumer PC market. While the launch of Windows 8 in October 2012 resulted in over 100 million licenses sold, the challenging PC market coupled with the significant product launch costs for Windows 8 and Surface resulted in an 18% decline in Windows Division operating income. Slower than anticipated sales of Surface RT devices and the decision to reduce prices to accelerate sales resulted in a $900 million inventory charge,” it noted.
In addition, the company reiterated that it sold 100 million Windows 8 licenses in only a few months, but nothing new on this front, as Microsoft said basically the same thing earlier this year.
And still, it did mention that “higher sales and marketing expenses associated with the Windows 8 and Surface RT and Pro devices negatively impacted Microsoft’s overall operating income,” so the tech giant most likely expects Windows 8.1 to perform a lot better.