Microsoft falls behind Apple in quarterly profits for the first time in history

Microsoft's first financial report for 2011 is out as well and the results indicate something that people in the know have been anticipating for a while. It looks like over the first three months of this year, Microsoft generated a net profit of $5.23 billion, which for the first time in history is less than what Apple ($5.99 billion) accumulated over the same period of time.

Apple has already overtaken Microsoft, arguably its strongest competitor, in terms of quarterly earnings – that happened six months ago for the first time ever. Furthermore, thanks to the booming iPhone sales and the sky-high interest in the iPad, Apple's quarterly revenue reports just keep on showing record-breaking results. Until now, Cupertino was having a hard time catching up on net profits since Microsoft's products simply generate higher gains with every unit sold in comparison with Apple's. Taking a closer look at both companies' quarterly reports reveals that Microsoft still maintains its net profit margins near the 32% mark while Apple only averages about 24%. However, if Microsoft keeps on overlooking the steadily rising tablet market, as it seems to be doing so far, it would not be surprising to see Apple's lead in the net profit section grow even further.