WORLDTECHMicrosoft Windows OEM and Devices Revenue Drops 22% Year-on-Year
Microsoft's third-quarter 2026 earnings, reported at $92.3 billion in revenue, show that its Windows OEM licensing business fell 22% year-over-year, according to TechPowerUp. Total revenue rose 19% over the same period.
Windows OEM revenue falls to $3.6 billion
Revenue from Windows 11 OEM licensing and Surface PCs came to $3.6 billion this quarter, compared with $4.6 billion from the same segment a year earlier. TechPowerUp attributes this to the earnings report, which also shows that the segment declined 22% annually even as overall revenue grew 19% year-over-year.
Of Microsoft's business units, only this segment and Xbox declined this quarter.
Weaker PC demand and higher prices
According to the report, the first factor behind the decline is lower consumer PC demand. Microsoft sells Windows 11 licenses to PC makers, and the report links weaker demand in that market to rising prices. The result has been fewer licenses sold to major PC OEMs, including ASUS, HP, Dell and Lenovo.
Open questions
- Will consumer PC demand recover in the coming quarters?
- Do the causes of the Xbox decline match those behind the Windows OEM drop?