Nasdaq 100, Dow Jones, S&P 500: Azure Cloud Business Drives Microsoft’s Earnings Above Expectations

Highlights

• Microsoft earnings exceeded analyst expectations
• Revenue growth projected to be 3%, second consecutive quarter below 10%
• Azure cloud business continues to grow, despite slowing rate

Overview

Following the bell, Microsoft released its earnings report, which exceeded analyst expectations. According to Refinitiv, the company earned $2.45 per share, compared to the expected $2.23 per share, and generated revenue of $52.86 billion, beating the expected $51.02 billion.

Although the projected revenue growth for the quarter is 3%, it will mark a second consecutive quarter of growth below 10%. Prior to this, the company had experienced double-digit growth in every quarter since 2017, except for the previous quarter.

Microsoft’s PC Division Slumps 30%

The weakest results are anticipated in Microsoft’s personal computing division, which includes the sale of Windows operating system licenses to PC manufacturers, along with Xbox consoles and Surface devices. According to research firm Gartner, PC shipments decreased by 30% in the quarter.

Microsoft’s Azure Cloud Shines Brighter

Microsoft’s Azure cloud business, on the other hand, continues to be a bright spot for the company, despite the slowing growth rate. CNBC analysts forecast a 26.5% year-over-year growth rate, while StreetAccount analysts predict 27.2%. However, the company does not disclose the size of its Azure business in dollars. In the second fiscal quarter, Azure and other cloud services generated 31% revenue growth, a decrease from the previous quarter’s 35% growth.

Microsoft’s OpenAI Partnership Boosts Potential

Investors are optimistic about Azure’s potential, given that it has formed a partnership with OpenAI, the company behind the creation of ChatGPT. Microsoft announced during the quarter that it will invest multibillions of dollars in OpenAI and use the company’s artificial intelligence models for a new version of its Bing search engine and improvements to the Microsoft 365 productivity software.

Microsoft’s shares have risen by 17% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 index has increased by less than 8% over the same period. The company’s executives will discuss the results with analysts and provide guidance during a conference call starting at 5:30 p.m. ET.

After the release of the earnings report, Microsoft shares rose to $288.61, up $13.23 or +4.80%.

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