Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella takes part in the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment Event during the G7 Summit at the Borgo Egnazia resort in Savelletri, Italy, on June 13, 2024.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
Microsoft reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, as the company’s Azure cloud infrastructure business grew faster than predicted. The stock rose about 2% in extended trading.
Here’s how the company performed in comparison with LSEG consensus:
- Earnings per share: $3.30 vs. $3.10 expected
- Revenue: $65.59 billion vs. $64.51 billion expected
Microsoft’s revenue grew 16% year over year in the quarter, which ended on Sept. 30, according to a statement. Net income, at $24.67 billion, was up from $22.29 billion in the year-ago quarter.
In August, Microsoft said it would revise the reporting of business segments to reflect its management approach. Mobility and security services, along with some Windows revenue, are now part of the Productivity and Business Processes unit, which includes Office software.
Revenue from Productivity and Business Processes reached $28.32 billion in the quarter. The number is up 12% and higher than the $27.90 billion consensus among analysts surveyed by StreetAccount. It’s 38% higher than the $20.45 billion midpoint of the forecast that management gave in July, because the actual total accounts for the changes.
Investors received a clearer picture of cloud computing consumption at Microsoft, because for the first time, the Azure and other cloud services revenue growth metric excludes mobility and security and Power BI data analytics sales. Azure growth for the quarter came in at 33%. CNBC’s consensus for Azure growth was 32.8%, while StreetAccount’s was 29.4%.
As of Tuesday’s close, Microsoft was up about 15% for the year, while the Nasdaq gained around 25% during the same period.
Executives will discuss the results and issue guidance on a conference call with analysts starting at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Correction: A prior version of this story had an incorrect date for the end of the quarter. It was Sept. 30.
