Microsoft posts record revenue for the quarter, but fails short of Apple by $4.14 billion

Microsoft Corp. today announced record first-quarter revenue of $16.20 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2010, a 25% increase from the same period of the prior year.

Net income and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $5.41 billion and $0.62 per share, which represented increases of 51% and 55%, respectively, when compared with the prior year period.

On October 18, 2010, Apple Inc. posted record revenue of $20.34 billion with net quarterly income of $4.31 billion for the company’s fiscal 2010 fourth quarter ended September 25, 2010.

Of course, Apple sells mainly stunning physical products while Microsoft mainly sells licenses for bloatware and obviously cheaply-made game consoles.

MacDailyNews Take: So, how soon until Microsoft can’t match Apple’s quarterly net profit, either? Maybe this one? After all, MS can’t release a new Office every quarter.