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Microsoft says PC unit will fall short of guidance due to coronavirus

Photo: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Microsoft does not expect its PC unit, which includes Windows and Surface, to meet its previous quarterly revenue guidance due to the impact of the coronavirus on computer production, the company said in a Wednesday statement.

Our thought bubble, via Axios' Ina Fried: It's PC supply, not demand, that is below expectations, as the supply chain — much of which is in China — has been slower to return to full production.

  • Apple warned last week that it would miss estimates, citing the dual impact of the coronavirus both slowing hardware production and decreasing demand in China as consumer spending slowed.

Where it stands: 69% of U.S. consumers are concerned about the coronavirus outbreak's impact on the U.S. economy, according to a Morning Consult poll conducted from Feb. 24–26.

  • Roughly 2,000 adults were surveyed by Morning Consult with a margin of error of ±2%.

What they're saying:

"Although we see strong Windows demand in line with our expectations, the supply chain is returning to normal operations at a slower pace than anticipated at the time of our Q2 earnings call.
As a result, for the third quarter of fiscal year 2020, we do not expect to meet our More Personal Computing segment guidance as Windows OEM and Surface are more negatively impacted than previously anticipated. All other components of our Q3 guidance remain unchanged."
— Microsoft's statement

Go deeper: Apple's coronavirus warning foreshadows broader threat for tech

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CIA Director Gina Haspel. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

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Why it matters: The revelation stunned national security officials and almost blew up the leadership of the world's most powerful spy agency. Only a series of coincidences — and last minute interventions from Vice President Mike Pence and White House counsel Pat Cipollone — stopped it.

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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

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John Weaver, Lincoln Project co-founder, acknowledges “inappropriate” messages

John Weaver aboard John McCain's campaign plane in February 2000. Photo: Robert Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

John Weaver, a veteran Republican operative who co-founded the Lincoln Project, declared in a statement to Axios on Friday that he sent “inappropriate,” sexually charged messages to multiple men.

  • “To the men I made uncomfortable through my messages that I viewed as consensual mutual conversations at the time: I am truly sorry. They were inappropriate and it was because of my failings that this discomfort was brought on you,” Weaver said.
  • “The truth is that I'm gay,” he added. “And that I have a wife and two kids who I love. My inability to reconcile those two truths has led to this agonizing place.”
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