Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, speaking on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22, 2025.
Gerry Miller | CNBC
Microsoft shares popped 9% Thursday after the software giant issued strong guidance and robust cloud growth drove a top- and bottom-line beat in the third quarter.
Shares are on pace for their best day since March 2020.
Azure revenues topped estimates, growing 33% year over year. Microsoft attributed 16 points of that growth to artificial intelligence. Analysts polled by StreetAccount and CNBC had anticipated 30.3%.
“Clearly, the macro environment remains a wild card, but with Azure back in ‘beat/raise’ mode, we believe that overhang now turns into a tailwind and highlights not only the significant demand for AI services on Azure, but also MSFT’s broad base of infrastructure offerings to support the ongoing migration of enterprise workloads to the cloud,” wrote Evercore ISI’s Kirk Materne.
During its fiscal second-quarter results, Microsoft’s Azure segment showed lighter-than-expected growth and a deceleration from the previous quarter. Microsoft said it anticipates 34% to 35% Azure growth at constant currency in the current period, versus a 31.5% estimate from StreetAccount.
The company reported $70.07 billion in revenue for the fiscal third quarter ending March 31. That reflected 13% year-over-year growth from a year ago and topped a $68.42 billion estimate from analysts polled by LSEG. Net income grew 18% to $25.8 billion from $21.9 billion, or $2.94 per share, a year ago.
Microsoft said it expects revenue to range between $73.15 billion and $74.25 billion in the current quarter. The middle of the range topped a $72.26 billion consensus estimate from LSEG. The robust forecast helped quell some investor concerns that President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff policies are weighing on technology businesses.
Microsoft also signaled that it is continuing to spend on AI infrastructure as it races against megacap competitors to meet ballooning demand. The company reiterated that it expects capital expenditures growth in the new fiscal year, albeit at a slower rate than the current.
Capex, excluding finance leases, grew 53% to $16.75 billion. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had expected $16.37 billion.
“Bottom-line, while the macro presents uncertainty, Microsoft appears poised to yield on GenAI investments which should support share gains and more durable growth ahead,” said Morgan Stanley’s Keith Weiss.
— CNBC’s Jordan Novet contributed to this report.
