Microsoft Q3 financials: I hope they are stuffing business back in the drawer

It looks to me like Microsoft decided that the "technology guarantee" reveal was holding down the compare of Microsoft's third quarter of FY 2008 with 3Q FY 2007 so much that the company just stuffed business back in the drawer.

In fact, when aQuantive results from the first calendar quarter of 2007 are backed in, I think the compare is negative.

At least I hope that is what is happening because otherwise there might be signs of the slowing economy in Microsoft's numbers.

But picking the midpoint of their Q4 FY 2008 guidance gets them back on an up curve with a healthy finish to their year (ending June 30). At least I hope that's what's going on here.

In fact, I'm going to skip the conference call and read the transcript in the morning. Somebody will ask them about constant currency I'm sure. Because I sure hope that's all that is happening here.

(I'm waiting for SAP and CA to report during the week of April 28 in order to do my trailing 12-month analysis of the IT Top 12. It still looks like Microsoft will be fourth or fifth among that group. I hope.)

-- Dennis Byron