Microsoft Corporation is a global technology leader and one of the largest corporations in the world. The company is headquartered in Redmond, Washington with operations in over 100 countries and 134,000 employees. Microsoft reported quarterly results for its third quarter of fiscal year 2020. These results provide important information regarding Microsoft’s current financial and operational performance for March 31st, 2020. In addition, the results and expectations provide investors, analysts and other stakeholders insight into Microsoft’s business strategy, performance highlights, cost efficiency initiatives, capital structure and related metrics.
This report will delve deeper into Microsoft’s quarterly results by discussing their overall performance during the relevant period and highlighting key metrics that have driven the company’s success thus far this year. It will also analyse potential risks associated with future events that could significantly impact the company’s trajectory. Finally, comparison to previous quarters will be done to gain better insights into trends as opposed to last quarter and recent quarters more generally now that more time has passed since the start of a new fiscal year.
Microsoft posts nearly $50B in quarterly revenue, beats expectations due to cloud growth
Microsoft recently announced its quarterly results, reporting nearly $50 billion in revenue. This was higher than expected and driven largely by cloud service growth.
Microsoft’s success is attributed to its ability to adapt to a new business model focused on cloud computing services. In this article, we’ll discuss Microsoft’s results and the factors contributing to its success this quarter.
Revenue
Microsoft Corporation produces a wide range of products, services, and business solutions spanning consumer technology, cloud computing, gaming and entertainment, internet services, retail and e-commerce. The company reported results for its fourth quarter ended June 30, 2019. Revenue rose 14% to $33.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019, with growth across all three of the company’s business segments – Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions being the biggest contributor.
The Productivity and Business Processes segment saw revenue rise 16% to $10.9 billion due to a 32% increase in Office Commercial products offset by lower income from Office consumer products. Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud business saw revenue rise 23% to $11 billion due to enterprise customers shifting their email and software deployments from an on-premises model to a cloud offering run by Microsoft 365 Business subscriptions. Microsoft’s More Personal Computing segment saw revenue rise 6% to $11.8 billion due primarily to sales of Xbox hardware and gaming revenue growth, partially offset by declines in Windows revenue attributable to surface devices and PCs resulting from weak demand for touch capable devices.
Earnings
Microsoft reported its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results after the close of trading on Friday, meeting Wall Street expectations. Total revenue was $36.91 billion, up 14 percent from a year ago, while earnings per share were $1.14, up 21 percent compared to last year.
Analysts had been expecting earnings per share of $1.12 and revenue of $37.18 billion for June 30th. Microsoft’s stock price rose slightly for the week and closed at a record high of $235 per share on Friday before the earnings report was announced in after-hours trading on Monday evening.
Microsoft said its performance was driven by continued strength from its cloud business and Office 365 and Dynamics 365 products, with double-digit growth for each segment compared to a year ago. The Windows OS business also posted gains due in part to new hardware releases this spring such as the long-awaited Surface Pro 6 laptop cum tablet hybrid released in April and a refreshed lineup of desktop PCs in May and June.
Cloud Growth
Microsoft’s cloud business model has been a major driver of the company’s growth for several quarters, and this quarter was no exception. Cloud revenue growth was up 18% year-over-year, making it the biggest driver of revenue growth for the quarter. On an adjusted basis, Microsoft’s overall revenue was up 14%, while net profit rose 16%.
The main portion of Microsoft’s cloud revenue comes from its Azure platform and Office 365 suite, which have seen tremendous uptake in recent quarters. Azure revenue grew 59% in the quarter and Office 365 Commercial revenue grew 38%, demonstrating that Microsoft is successfully transitioning its assortment of services to a cloud delivery model.
Microsoft also saw strong growth in its intelligent cloud segment, including its core computing platform and artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced Analytics services. Revenue from this segment grew 13% compared to the same time last year. The success of Microsoft’s core platforms reinforces their dominant position within enterprise IT markets. In addition, it gives them even greater confidence when presenting their hybrid cloud and Internet of Things offerings to customers in the coming quarters.
Analysis
Microsoft recently reported its quarterly results and posted nearly $50 billion in revenue, beating analysts’ expectations. This is largely attributed to the growth and success of their cloud business.
In this article, we will do a deep dive and analyse the figures, look at the key drivers of success, and what the future may hold for Microsoft.
Microsoft’s Performance Compared to Previous Quarters
Microsoft’s latest quarterly financial statement shows the company maintaining a strong performance compared to previous quarters. Net income for the quarter was $7.6 billion, up 8 percent from the same period a year ago while revenue also increased by 8 percent, coming in at $30.6 billion. Operating Income rose 13% to $11.8 billion, with margins of 38%.
By segment, Productivity and Business Processes increased 9%, Intelligent Cloud increased 14% and More Personal Computing increased 5%. The company’s cash balance stood at $135 billion with total assets valued at over half a trillion dollars. Microsoft’s stock price rose substantially after their earnings report, showing an impressive 3% growth in one trading session!
Regarding product lines, Windows OEM revenues grew 5%, Office provided double-digit licensing revenue growth and Azure grew 59%. Xbox Live also grew to 63 million active users from 39 million the year prior. Additionally, Microsoft’s commercial cloud revenue surpassed the previously reported annual rate of $16billion for fiscal year 2019 and is currently on track to hit its goal of $20 billion by 2020.
Overall, the quarterly results prove that Microsoft continues its positive momentum with consumer cloud services leading the charge. At the same time, various other product lines contribute positively to their success — but they face stiff competition from rivals like Amazon and Google Cloud Platforms in this area of business.
Impact of Cloud Growth on Microsoft’s Results
Microsoft’s most recent quarterly results showed continued growth driven by its “intelligent cloud” business. Cloud adoption has grown rapidly in the past year, and Microsoft’s efforts to drive customers to the cloud are beginning to pay off in terms of financial performance.
Microsoft reported a strong increase in revenue from Azure, Office 365, Dynamics 365 and other services related to their cloud offerings. The Intelligent Cloud segment reported total revenue of $12.3 billion for the quarter, up 14% compared to last year. This was largely driven by an 18% increase in commercial enterprise licence agreements for Azure, Office 365 and Dynamics 365.
Microsoft has also seen significant increases in its monthly active users on Office365, setting an all-time high with 63 million users this quarter. It also set records for daily active users on LinkedIn and revenue growth across Dynamics 365.
Overall, Microsoft’s investments into its cloud strategy are proving increasingly successful as customers look for more affordable ways to access computing power from a central provider over more traditional methods such as purchasing servers individually. This shift presents opportunities for companies looking to expand into new markets or leverage their data differently than they would have before moving their operations online.
tags = microsoft q3 yoy azuresopergeekwire, microsoft seattlebased suplari ai 18msopergeekwire, microsoft suplari suplari 18msopergeekwire, microsoft suplari ai suplari 18msopergeekwire, microsoft ai suplari 18msopergeekwire
