Column: Microsoft corp. is doing well where it counts, poorly everywhere else

Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) second-quarter earnings report wasn’t a disaster.  It may have seemed that way to investors, coming at the end of a three-month 25% rally, but what it revealed was a company doing some things right, and some things wrong.

For Microsoft, that’s business as usual.

The glaring problem was the Windows division.

Sales fell 6% year-over-year, reflecting a 15% decline in revenue from OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer, i.e. PC) sales.

IDC and Gartner both reported that PC shipments declined 11% in the second quarter, which suggests that inventory drawdown might have eaten into Microsoft’s top line.

The weak results cannot be blamed on Windows 8 alone, as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) also reported a 7% decline in Macintosh shipments.