Microsoft posts $20.1 bn Qr profit (AP), new AI platform shift

Microsoft’s battle to outsell competitors like Google, Amazon, and Facebook parent Meta in the sale of cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology has been fueled by a 20% increase in quarterly profits, which were disclosed on Tuesday.

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The software industry behemoth reported a profit for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year of $20.1 billion, or $2.69 per share, exceeding the $2.55 per share estimate of analysts.

It posted revenue of $56.2 billion in the April-June period, up 8% from last year. Analysts polled by FactSet Research had been looking for revenue of $55.49 billion. CEO Satya Nadella said the company remains focused on “leading the new AI platform shift,” though its push to add AI features to its existing products — among them cloud computing services, workplace software and its Bing search engine — are not yet making an obvious mark on its financial results.

Microsoft was an early mover in this year’s hype around “generative AI” tools that can help people write documents and create new images and other media. It capitalized on its multibillion-dollar investments in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI to launch a Bing chatbot and similar tools tailored to its business customers. It said last week that it would start charging $30 per user for business accounts that sign up for its new AI “Copilot” that integrates with existing software such as Word, Excel and email.