Microsoft reported revenue of $12.9 billion (£7.9 billion) and earnings of 40 cents a share, compared with analyst expectations of around $12.3 billion and EPS of 32 cents.
Sales for Amazon were up by 28 per cent for the quarter to $5.45 billion. Analysts had forecast around $5.02 billion in revenue. Profit for the quarter leapt by 69 per cent to $199 million.
Part of the boost came from sales of its Kindle e-reader, which Amazon said was its number one best-selling item in terms of units and dollars.
Microsoft has just released the latest version of its operating system, Windows 7. It was the most pre-ordered item in Amazon history, with the company relying on the software to boost its reputation after falling behind Apple and facing competition from the lilkes of Google, which is developing its own operating system for PCs.
Amazon shares rose by 22 per cent when the market opened to trade at $114.47 this morning, while Microsoft's share price was up by7 per cent to $28.56.
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