Two tech giants don't meet expectatons

Microsoft and Google are highly profitable and made tons of money during the last quarter, but apparently not enough to please Wall Street. Both companies issued quarterly results last week that disappointed investors. Microsoft reported more than $60 billion in revenue for its full fiscal year, but missed Wall Street's profit expectations. Google reported $3.87 billion in revenue for the quarter, but its expenses were higher than expected, and it had lower-than-anticipated income from the interest on its cash balance sheet.

"We don't believe we are inoculated from global economics, but we do believe if there is a worsening, we do better than anyone else in the ad industry," Eric E. Schmidt, Google's chief executive, told the New York Times. IBM beat Wall Street's estimates, but eBay posted disappointing results. ValueClick and Looksmart, companies in the display advertising business, said their profits were hurt by the economy. Overall, the technology is surviving the economic downturn, with some economists believing it may be insulated from a steep domestic decline because it is increasingly global.

For more on the tech economy:
- check out the New York Times article