Microsoft Beats Estimates on Higher Cloud Demand

Revenue at Azure rose 33%; shares surged 10% in early trade on Thursday

- REUTERS 1 May

Microsoft forecast on Wednesday stronger than expected quarterly growth for its cloud-computing business Azure after blowout results in the latest quarter, calming investor worries in an uncertain economy.

Microsoft shares rose 10 per cent to $435.91 as the markets opened in New York on Thursday. Microsoft said revenue at its Azure cloud division rose 33 per cent in the third quarter ended March 31, exceeding estimates of 29.7 per cent, according to Visible Alpha. AI contributed 16 percentage points to the growth, up from 13 points in the previous quarter.

The company also forecast cloud-computing revenue growth of 34 per cent to 35 per cent on a constant currency basis for the fiscal fourth quarter to between $28.75 billion and $29.05 billion, well above analyst estimates, according to data from Visible Alpha.