Investing.com – Microsoft on Thursday reported third-quarter financial results that beat Wall Street estimates, as strong demand for artificial intelligence supported better-than-expected performance in its Azure cloud business.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: ) rose more than 4% in after-hours trading following the report.
For the three months ended March 31, the company announced earnings of $2.94 per share. share of revenue of $61.9B. Analysts polled by Investing.com expected EPS of $2.82 on revenue of $60.84 billion.
Growth in Azure and other cloud services was 31% in Q3 from a year earlier, beating analyst estimates of 28.6%, with about 7% of the growth coming from artificial intelligence, as the tech giant continues to ramp up AI-related spending , which widens the gap with its rivals.
“This leaves no doubt that the company is ahead of everyone in the segments that matter to the market right now and, most importantly, is on track to increase that lead,” senior analyst Thomas Monteiro said at Investing.com on Thursday . .
“While several tech companies failed to continue growing at the same pace as in recent quarters due to widespread margin contraction on both the cost and revenue sides, Microsoft’s AI and cloud growth numbers show that the company managed to sail through the quarter unphased,” Monteiro said.
Revenue in more personal computers rose 17% to $15.6 billion in the third quarter from a year earlier, further highlighting the company’s diversification of revenue streams that should stand it in good stead against potential financial problems.
Microsoft’s “many of high-performing, globally scaled operations leave the tech giant “well-positioned against possible macroeconomic headwinds ahead in the year,” Monteiro added.
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