- Microsoft stock (NDAQ:MSFT) is up sharply after coming out ahead of analysts’ earnings estimates for Q1 FY2024
- Diluted earnings per share were US$2.99, up by 27 per cent YoY, above analysts’ consensus estimate of US$2.65 per share
- The company’s outperformance can be attributed to rising interest in its suite of artificial intelligence tools
- Microsoft stock (NDAQ:MSFT) is up by 3.28 per cent trading at US$341.38 per share
Microsoft stock (NDAQ:MSFT) is up sharply after coming out ahead of analysts’ earnings estimates for Q1 FY2024.
The company’s cloud computing and PC businesses were particularly strong, with adoption indicating interest in the company’s associated artificial intelligence (AI) tools currently being rolled out.
Key figures
- Revenue of US$56.5 billion, up 13 per cent year-over-year (YoY), above analysts’ consensus estimate of US$54.52 billion
- Operating income of US$26.9 billion, up by 25 per cent YoY
- Net income of US$22.3 billion, up by 27 per cent YoY
- Diluted earnings per share of US$2.99, up by 27 per cent YoY, above analysts’ consensus estimate of US$2.65 per share
- Intelligent Cloud unit revenue, including the Azure cloud-computing platform where most of Microsoft’s AI work is centred, grew to US$24.3 billion, compared with analysts’ estimate of US$23.49 billion, with Azure revenue up by 29 per cent
- Windows operating system segment sales of US$13.7 billion, compared with analysts’ consensus estimate of US$12.82 billion
- LinkedIn and office productivity software segment sales of US$18.6 billion, compared with analysts’ consensus estimate of US$18.2 billion
- Microsoft returned US$9.1 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends during the quarter
Technology companies across the world are keen on integrating Microsoft AI innovations such as Copilot, a US$30-per-month Microsoft 365 offering that can summarize dozens of emails into a few main points. Additionally, Azure’s OpenAI Service, which offers access to large-scale, generative AI models for writing assistance, code generation and data analytics, has surpassed 18,000 customers, up from 11,000 customers in July.
Capital expenditures for the quarter were US$11.2 billion, up from US$10.7 billion in Q4 FY2023, representing the highest figure since FY2016 as the company ramps up data centre construction to power its AI software.
“With copilots, we are making the age of AI real for people and businesses everywhere,” Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft, said in Tuesday’s news release. “We are rapidly infusing AI across every layer of the tech stack and for every role and business process to drive productivity gains for our customers.”
Click here to read about the company’s key product releases during the quarter.
Click here to read Microsoft’s presentation for its Q1 FY2024 results.
Microsoft is a technology company focused on digital innovations for the era of intelligent cloud computing.
Microsoft stock (NDAQ:MSFT) was up by as much as 3 per cent in after-hours trading on Wednesday, and by almost 5 per cent in pre-market trading earlier Wednesday.
The stock is up by 3.28 per cent trading at US$341.38 per share as of 10:37 am ET.
Over the past year, MSFT shareholders have been rewarded with a gain of approximately 35 per cent.
All estimates are according to LSEG, which was formerly known as Refinitiv.
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