J.P. Morgan

Sales of the Windows operating system fell 29 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter, Microsoft reported Thursday. The news sent the company's stock down nearly nine percent at noon Eastern time Friday.

Microsoft said Windows sales for the quarter were $3.1 billion, down from $4.4 billion in the year-ago quarter. For the full fiscal year, Windows sales declined 13 percent, to $14.7 billion from $16.9 billion. Some businesses have avoided Windows Vista, and Microsoft will release Windows 7 in October.

Weak Demand Blamed