Microsoft and CA Inc both beat 3Q expectations

In our quarterly call yesterday, "Investing in a Post QE World" (here is a link to a video of the presentation), we highlighted the systems software industry as one where value is still compelling and many of the companies in that industry are very shareholder friendly. In particular, we highlighted Microsoft and CA Inc. Well as if on cue (we wished all of our ideas worked so neatly!), Microsoft and CA Inc both reported earnings that beat analyst expectations. Microsoft reported EPS of $0.62 while analysts were expecting it to come in around $0.54. Meanwhile, CA Inc reported EPS of $0.53 versus expectations of $0.41. Microsoft is up about 5.5% so far today and CA Inc is up nearly 4%.