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Microsoft
the shares are trading more after the software giant reported better-than-expected quarterly results. The company has shown its strength in general, gaining momentum especially from the accelerated adoption of cloud computing.
For the second fiscal quarter ended December 31, Microsoft (ticker: MSFT) reported revenue of $ 43.1 billion, up 17% from last year, with earnings of $ 2.03 per share, up $ 34%. This easily exceeded Wall Street’s consensus forecast for $ 40.2 billion in revenue and $ 1.64 in earnings per share.
“What we have witnessed in the last year is the beginning of a second wave of digital transformation that has encompassed every company and every industry,” CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement. “Building your own digital capacity is the new currency that determines the resilience and growth of every organization.”
Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood added that “accelerating demand for our differentiated offerings has led to cloud commercial revenue of $ 16.7 billion, up 34% year-on-year.”
Microsoft’s quarterly gaming revenue exceeded $ 5 billion for the first time, driven by an 86 percent increase in hardware revenue for the Xbox, reflecting the launch of a new generation of gaming consoles.
The company recorded a business acceleration in the September quarter in all three product segments, where revenues exceeded forecasts.
Sales in the Productivity and Business Processes segment (which includes Office and LinkedIn) were $ 13.4 billion, up 13% and over the $ 12.75 billion to $ 13 billion target range.
For Intelligent Cloud, which includes the Azure cloud platform, sales were $ 14.6 billion, up 21%, well above the projected range of $ 13.55 billion to $ 13.8 billion. Azure revenues increased by 50%, up from 48% in the September quarter.
Sales in the More Personal Computing segment, which includes Windows and Surface tablets and computers, were $ 15.1 billion, up 14%, well above the company’s estimate of $ 13.2 billion to $ 13.6 billion. of dollars. This includes a 40% increase in Xbox content and services.
Area revenues fell in the quarter to 3% from 37% in the September quarter; the company said the slowdown largely reflects the product launch period a year ago and that it would make sense for investors to look at surface revenues over the two quarters combined.
Microsoft said it returned $ 10 billion to holders in that quarter, including $ 6.5 billion in share repurchases. The company closed the quarter with $ 132 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments offset by $ 55 billion in long-term debt.
At an investor conference, CFO Hood said the company expects March quarterly revenue in the productivity and business process segment to be between $ 13.35 billion and $ 13.6 billion. Smart cloud revenues are expected to range from $ 14.7 billion to $ 14.95 billion. More revenue from personal calculations is expected to range from $ 12.3 billion to $ 12.7 billion. At the top of the range for each segment, revenue for that quarter would be $ 41.25 billion, well ahead of the street consensus, of $ 38.7 billion. Hood also said the company expects double-digit earnings in operating income and profits for the full fiscal year ending June 2021.
For its quarter ended September 30, Microsoft posted a 12% revenue gain of $ 37.2 billion, with earnings of $ 1.82 per share.
In today’s regular session, Microsoft closed 1.2% at $ 232.33, giving the company a market value of $ 1.77 billion, higher than any other company than
Apple
(AAPL). The stock has increased by 41% in the last 12 months.
At the end of Tuesday’s transaction, Microsoft rose 4.8% to $ 243.50.
Write to Eric J Savitz at [email protected]