Microsoft’s Winning Streak Continues with Impressive Earnings, Achieving Best-Ever Quarterly Revenue for the Fifth Consecutive Quarter, Riding on Surging Investor Interest in Artificial Intelligence and the Debut of ChatGPT by Microsoft-backed OpenAI.
KEY FACTS Microsoft outperformed expectations with $62 billion in sales for the last three months, surpassing the average analyst estimate of $61.1 billion (FactSet). The earnings per share stood at $2.93, beating forecasts of $2.77.
This robust sales figure marked an 18% year-over-year increase from the previous quarter’s record of $56.5 billion.
While profits slightly dipped from the September quarter’s $22.3 billion to $21.9 billion, they remained up by about 30% annually.
Despite the stellar performance, Microsoft shares experienced a slight dip post-earnings release, contrary to the stock’s overall strong performance, witnessing an 11% increase in 2024 and a 70% surge since the beginning of 2023.
BIG NUMBER 30%. Microsoft reported a remarkable 30% year-over-year revenue growth in its intelligent cloud division, which encompasses the AI-centric Azure cloud service.
KEY BACKGROUND Last week, Microsoft achieved a historic milestone by surpassing a $3 trillion market capitalization, solidifying its position as the world’s most valuable company as of Tuesday’s market close. Microsoft overtook Apple, which had held the title of the world’s biggest company for the majority of the past three years until Microsoft reclaimed the throne earlier this month. The Washington-based tech giant’s resurgence on Wall Street is primarily attributed to its leadership in the broader AI movement.