The US tech industry response to the coronavirus crisis has moved beyond conference cancellations and a refusal to shake hands in meetings. On Microsoft has joined Apple in declaring that disruption in China due to the viral outbreak would affect sales in the next quarter.
Microsoft’s “More Personal Computing” segment will fall short of sales guidance of between $10.75bn and $11.15bn. The world’s largest software maker may not look like an obvious victim of supply chain problems but its personal computing business makes up more than a third of annual sales.
Microsoft has had a recent boost from businesses upgrading to its new Windows 10 operating system as support for an older system came to an end. But further upgrades may be delayed as PC makers struggle with factory work stoppages in China. HP, the second-largest PC maker, has already warned that it has been affected by factory shutdowns.