US$7 billion charge leads to largest loss ever for Microsoft

Seattle

AN accounting charge wiped out Microsoft's profit for the quarter, leading to its largest loss ever, the company said on Tuesday, making clear the cost of its missteps in the mobile business.

The US$7.5 billion accounting charge, stemming from Microsoft's troubled acquisition of Nokia's cellphone business, was disclosed by the company earlier this month, along with plans to eliminate 7,800 jobs, mostly in the company's phone operations. While the accounting charge was on paper and will not diminish the company's huge cash hoard, it was a psychic blow to Microsoft, one of the biggest moneymakers in tech.

Investors, however, seemed to mostly look beyond Microsoft's struggles in the phone market. They appeared to focus on two of the company's most important businesses, Windows and Office, which showed some signs of weakness. Those were somewhat off…