January 17^th, 2003 (12:00am) - Microsoft today announced revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2002, a 10 percent increase over the same period a year earlier. Its first-ever dividend since going public in 1986 came also with the announcement of a two-for-one stock split.

Now available in all markets, Xbox turned in a strong performance for the holiday season, selling more than 8 million units since the product launched on Nov. 15, 2001.

In November 2002, Xbox LIVE launched in North America, and in less than 60 days, more than 250,000 Xbox Live starter kits were sold, exceeding internal expectations. According to NPD Data, more than 80 percent of customers who purchased the Xbox Live Starter Kit also purchased one or more of these games.

Three of the four best-selling Xbox titles are all LIVE-enabled, including "MechAssault" from Microsoft Game Studios, Tom Clancy’s "Ghost Recon" from Ubi Soft, and "Unreal Championship" from Infogrames.

"The company delivered solid results in every business despite a challenging global economic environment. During the quarter we also launched a broad range of products and services, including MSN 8, Tablet PC, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Xbox LIVE and Windows Powered Smartphone," said John Connors, chief financial officer at Microsoft.