Shortage of Xbox360 have negtive effects on big "M" ?

To this day, the ability to locate an XBOX 360 is like try to find Osama Bin Laden. I think they are all being stored in Bora Bora. Because of Microsoft slight miscalculation in their Global Launch, can their profits be going up in smoke????

"Microsoft Shares Climb on Profit Increase"

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 27, 2006
Filed at 10:26 a.m. ET

SEATTLE (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. shares rose more than 3 percent Friday in the wake of its report of a 5 percent increase in its fiscal second quarter profit.
The world's biggest software maker reported its earnings after the markets closed Thursday, citing the successful launch of a new server product and robust demand for personal computers powered by its Windows operating system. It also offered slightly higher guidance for the current fiscal year.
Its shares rose 95 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $27.45 in morning trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
''People, to some extent, were relieved,'' said Mark Stahlman, an analyst with Caris & Co.
For the three months ended Dec. 31, the Redmond-based company reported earnings of $3.65 billion, or 34 cents per share, up from $3.46 billion, or 32 cents per share, in the same period last year.
The results included a one-time tax benefit of $108 million, or 1 cent per share. Without the one-time benefit, Microsoft met the expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Financial, who were projecting earnings of 33 cents per share on revenue of $11.96 billion.
Microsoft said revenue rose 9 percent to $11.84 billion, up from $10.82 billion in the same period a year earlier.
''We were happy with the overall financial performance,'' Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said.
Liddell said Microsoft had shipped 1.5 million Xbox 360 videogame consoles by Dec. 31, and was still on track to ship between 4.5 million and 5.5 million by June 30, when its fiscal year ends.
But in a conference call with analysts, the company conceded there were problems getting some of the components for the game console. As a result of supply constraints, the company said it would sell only 2.5 million units worldwide in the 90 days following the console's launch last Nov. 22, down from earlier promises that the company would sell as many as 3 million. Still, Liddell said the problems weren't expected to be long term.
The Xbox 360 became a holiday must-have item, frustrating some consumers who weren't able to get one.
But analyst Jamie Friedman with Soleil Securities said the company failed to meet even his reduced expectations for Xbox sales, while also losing more money than he expected. Microsoft's home and entertainment division, which includes Xbox, lost $293 million during the quarter, after earning $55 million in the year-ago period.
Microsoft loses money each time it sells an Xbox 360 console, although the eventual goal is to break even.
Microsoft's MSN online division also saw earnings fall to $58 million, from $130 million in the same quarter last year. Liddell attributed the drop to a significant decline in its business of offering narrowband Internet connections, which is being supplanted by increased popularity in faster broadband offerings.
On the other hand, the company's unit that focuses on small businesses, Microsoft Business Solutions, was profitable for the first time since the company divided itself into seven business units in 2002. Its Mobile and Embedded Devices unit also posted its first profit since the divisions were announced.
Still, Liddell said he didn't expect those units to remain consistently profitable this fiscal year ending June 30.
The software maker raised its earnings guidance slightly for the fiscal year. The company said it now expects to earn between $1.28 and $1.31 per share, up from previous guidance of between $1.26 and $1.30 per share.
Revenue for the full fiscal year is now expected to be between $44 billion and $44.5 billion, up from previous guidance of between $43.7 billion and $44.5 billion.
For the current third quarter that ends in March, the company said it expects to earn between 32 cents and 33 cents per share, on revenue of between $10.9 billion and $11.2 billion.
For the six months ended Dec. 31, Microsoft said it earned $6.79 billion, or 63 cents per share, on revenue of $21.58 billion. That compares with earnings of $5.99 billion, or 55 cents per share, on revenue of $20 billion, in the same six-month period a year earlier.