Most of that revenue was related to the corporate market, where Microsoft’s position is stronger than it is among consumers. About a quarter of Windows revenue was from volume licensing deals with big business customers, who typically pay for rights for Windows upgrades over several years, along with the ability to manage a multitude of users over corporate networks.

Most people pay for Windows, whether they realize it or not, when they buy a new PC with a copy already installed. Nearly half of Windows revenue came from PC makers who licensed the operating system to put on machines aimed at the professional market, while a little over a quarter, about $4 billion, was from consumer PC makers.

“The piece they’re giving away is the piece nobody is buying anyway, which is the upgrade to Windows,” said Steve Kleynhans, an analyst at Gartner.

Windows remains the dominant operating system on PCs, and unless that starts to change, Microsoft is unlikely to stop charging computer makers for the software. Still, competitors are biting Microsoft’s ankles in the consumer market, forcing the company to cut prices in some areas. Last year, Microsoft cut fees for the operating system for manufacturers in the low end of the laptop market, where Windows faces growing competition from inexpensive devices known as Chromebooks, which run a free Google operating system.

The company’s chief executive, Satya Nadella, also made Windows free on devices with screens smaller than nine inches, a category that consists mainly of smartphones and tablets, along with some laptop-like products.

Microsoft executives have started talking up new ways to make money from Windows. Executives see advertising revenue from Bing, the company’s Internet search engine, which is enmeshed in various functions within Windows, as one avenue. In addition, if the company can get enough people to buy games and other software through the Windows app store, its cut from those transactions could become meaningful.

The company is pursuing such trade-offs in other areas. With Office, for example, Microsoft gives away mobile versions to get people to pay for a subscription to the product, which gives them the ability to use the software on PCs in addition to online storage and other benefits. Microsoft is also seeking to participate in the hardware side of the technology business, with its Surface tablet computers and Lumia smartphones, though it recently announced plans to scale back the smartphone business after weak sales.