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, year-on-year.

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.

Microsoft exceed the consensus expectation of financial analysts polled by Thomson Financial 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.

Many industry experts see the next 12 to 18 months as a crucial period for Microsoft, which finds itself scrambling to ride the wave of cloud computing, a threat to its historical business model, based on on-premise desktop and server software.