Bing Adds $1 Billion To Microsoft's Revenue

Microsoft Bing has emerged as the true underdog of search engines.

Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said Thursday that Bing had finally achieved profitability in its first fiscal quarter of 2016, and that the search engine contributed more than $1 billion to Microsoft's revenue for this quarter. 

The last time Microsoft broke down the numbers on Bing, back in 2011, it was bleeding a billion dollars a quarter. And it has remained unprofitable over the last four years.
People were perplexed as to why Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) kept pouring money into a seemingly dead investment. However, the tech giant now has results to show: Microsoft's search revenue, excluding traffic-acquisition costs, grew 29%.
Much of Bing's success can be attributed to its subtle presence. Not many people may actively log on to Bing, but it's everywhere.
Obviously, Microsoft products push Bing -- Internet Edge and Cortana, the virtual assistant on Windows phones, search through Bing. Plus, Windows 10 was more positively received than it's predecessors, which has helped boost Bing's success.