Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Earnings Preview: Will Software Giant Beat Estimates In First Quarter?

Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT) is expected to report fiscal 2014 first-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Thursday, and Wall Street expects the software giant to post quarterly earnings of 54 cents on revenue of $17.80 billion, compared with a profit of 53 cents a share on revenue of $16.01 billion a year-ago.“Well, you want to see what the vision is and what the statement typically that follows the earnings is going to be going forward,” said Mark Newton, chief technical analyst at Greywolf Execution Partners. “That’s what’s really on investors’ minds. Who’s going to be the replacement for Ballmer? How are they going to get windows to be a bigger part of the mobile platform going forward?”Investors will also be listening in for more news regarding Microsoft’s $7 billion purchase of Nokia Corporation’s (NYSE: NOK) phone and tablet business.On Thursday, shares of Microsoft edged up 0.77 percent to $34.02 in afternoon trading.“We want to see if earnings can meet or beat expectations,” said Newton.Also after the bell on Thursday, Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) and Zynga Inc. (Nasdaq: ZNGA) are among other notable companies reporting quarterly earnings.The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 87.56 points, or 0.57 percent, at 15,500.89. The S&P 500 was up 5.06 points, or 0.29 percent, at 1,751.39. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 20.66 points, or 0.53 percent, at 3,927.77.