Microsoft witnessed a significant rise in its stock price, with shares increasing by 5.6% during late trading following the announcement of impressive financial results for the March quarter. The surge was largely driven by strong performances in its Azure cloud computing segment, fueled by growing demand for AI technologies.
In the quarter, Microsoft reported revenue of $61.9 billion, marking a 17% increase from the previous year and surpassing the consensus estimate of $60.9 billion by FactSet. Earnings per share stood at $2.94, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.82 per share.
The Productivity and Business Processes segment, which includes Office and other software solutions, achieved revenue of $19.6 billion, representing a 12% increase and landing at the high end of Microsoft’s projected range. The Intelligent Cloud unit, encompassing Azure, reported revenue of $26.7 billion, up 21% and surpassing the forecast range. Notably, Azure experienced accelerated growth at 31%, driven significantly by AI-related expansions.
The More Personal Computing division, which covers gaming, Windows, and Surface hardware, also performed strongly, reporting revenues of $15.6 billion, a 17% increase and well above the anticipated range.
Microsoft’s overall cloud revenues reached $35.1 billion, marking a 23% increase from the previous year. Commercial bookings saw a notable 29% year-over-year increase, reflecting strong business momentum. The company also emphasized substantial capital expenditures of $14 billion to support growing demand in cloud and AI offerings, alongside robust cash flow from operations at $31.9 billion, up 31%.
Furthermore, Microsoft continued its shareholder returns by repurchasing $2.8 billion of its stock during the quarter.
