Overall, revenue grew 6 percent to US$17.41 billion in the quarter ended March 31, but net income dropped to $5.11 billion, or $0.60 per share, from $5.23 billion, or $0.61 per share, a year earlier.

Microsoft noted that the 2011 third-quarter profit was helped by a one-time tax benefit of $461 million, or $0.05 per share, related to a tax settlement with the U.S. government. Excluding that item, earnings per share would have grown 7 percent year on year.

Microsoft exceeded the consensus expectation of financial analysts polled by Thomson Reuters of $0.58 earnings per share and $17.18 billion in revenue.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer called the results "strong" in a statement and highlighted the intense upgrade cycle the company is in the midst of, including upcoming major new releases of key consumer and enterprise products like Windows and Office.

"We saw strong enterprise uptake for our server and Office products and continued business demand for PCs, leading to healthy top line growth. Along with our revenue growth, we were able to drive margin expansion with our strong focus on cost management," said Bill Koefoed, Microsoft general manager of investor relations, during a conference call to discuss the results.