Microsoft Stock Jumps 4% on Azure Revenue Beat — SkimNews
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- Microsoft reported $92.28 billion in revenue for the fiscal first quarter, beating expectations of $90.69 billion and marking 19% year-over-year growth.
- Microsoft disclosed $33.17 billion in Azure cloud revenue for the quarter, exceeding the $32.32 billion analysts expected, as the segment became its largest business.
- Amy Hood, Microsoft’s finance chief, projected 49% to 50% Azure growth in constant currency for the next quarter, surpassing the 45.1% consensus and signaling sustained demand.
- Microsoft spent $45.2 billion on capital expenditures and finance leases in the quarter, up 30% year over year, with 75% now allocated to short-lived AI infrastructure like GPUs and CPUs.
- Microsoft reported $18.63 billion in free cash flow, down 27% year over year, but maintained positive cash flow while rivals Alphabet and Meta posted negative figures.
- Satya Nadella said Microsoft 365 Copilot’s user base grew 50% from the prior quarter, and the new E7 productivity bundle has already secured millions of paid seats.
Why it matters: Microsoft is scaling AI infrastructure faster than rivals while maintaining positive cash flow, giving it a strategic edge as cloud demand outpaces supply. Its $33.17 billion Azure revenue beat and 48% growth show it is capturing disproportionate value in the AI build-out, even as capex nears $170 billion by 2027.
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