Microsoft’s Bing Search Engine Is Finally Profitable

Microsoft’s quixotic quest to upset Google in search is finally turning a profit. The Bing search engine is in the black, the tech giant announced during its Q1 earnings call Thursday. Bing generated more than $1 billion in revenue and managed to turn an operating profit during the quarter.

Launched in 2009, Bing was one of the first initiatives in Microsoft’s plan to transition from being a software company to a services company. The search engine was a huge money sink and has never really challenged Google’s dominance. However, Bing managed to carve out a 20% market share earlier this year. Microsoft has also built it into many of its Windows 10 devices, so as those products accrue sales, Bing’s fortunes could continue to improve.

Overall Microsoft posted revenue of $20.4 billion during the quarter, down 12% from the same period last year, and a profit of $4.6 billion, up 2%.

[Ars Technica]