The repeated delays that have plagued the history of Windows Vista will take their toll on Microsoft's earnings. No later than the coming week, the Redmond Company is expected to announce its quarterly profit. Financial analysts have forecasted that the software juggernaut will announce earnings of 23 cents per share.

In this regard, Microsoft has lost earnings of 10 cents per share compared with the fiscal second quarter of 2006. The lost in profit is associated with the cumulative delays that the operating system has suffered. Moreover, Microsoft's earnings have been impacted by the deferral of $1.5 billion in revenue that the Redmond Company has geared towards its marketing strategy for Vista.

The $1.5 billion deferral has been used to fuel the Vista coupon program that allows customers to purchase systems with Windows XP and then upgrade to Windows Vista, come January 30, 2007, at considerable discounts or even for free.

On Thursday next week, analysts predict that Microsoft will announce a revenue growth limited to 2%. The earnings of 23 cents per share translate into a total revenue of $12.1 billion.

The software giant's decision to support PC sales preloaded with Windows XP has boomeranged back to heart Microsoft's pockets. The fact that Windows Vista and the 2007 Office System have been available to Microsoft's Software Assurance customers via volume licensing since November 30 2006 did little to impact revenue.

In fact, the adoption of Windows Vista into the corporate environment has been slow, and situated below the demand for Windows XP in the initial month.