Microsoft announced revenue of $12.92 billion for the first quarter ended Sept. 30, 2009, and earnings of 40 cents per share. The earnings are higher than what many financial analysts had anticipated, beating predictions of 32 cents per share and $12.32 billion revenue. Despite beating predictions, revenue is still a 14% decline from the same period of the prior year. "We are very pleased with our performance this quarter and particularly by the strong consumer demand for Windows," said Chris Liddell, chief financial officer at Microsoft. "We also maintained our cost discipline, which allowed us to drive strong earnings performance despite continued tough overall economic conditions." Microsoft is betting on Windows 7, Exchange and Office 2010 to boost revenue and expectations for the new financial year. The strong earning reports come a day after Windows 7 was released and shortly before the NASDAQ is due to start trading in America. Initial pre-market trading has Microsoft trading up nearly 9% on the news at the time of writing. They basically don't care. Bill's still #1 in the whole world. More Windows. more light, more green, and more 'open' mind