Microsoft Stock Soars After Record Cloud Revenue and Strong Quarterly Results
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Microsoft shares surged in after-hours trading after the technology giant reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, fueled by accelerating growth in its cloud computing and artificial intelligence businesses.
The company posted $90 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, an 18% increase from the same period last year, while net income climbed 31% to $35.8 billion. Earnings per share also exceeded Wall Street expectations, reflecting continued demand for Microsoft’s AI-powered products and cloud services.
A major highlight of the earnings report was the performance of Microsoft Cloud, which generated a record $59.3 billion in quarterly revenue, up 27% year over year. Meanwhile, Azure continued its rapid expansion with revenue increasing 43%, pushing the platform’s annual revenue beyond $100 billion for the first time.
Microsoft also reported that Microsoft 365 Copilot now has more than 30 million paid users, underscoring growing enterprise adoption of its AI-powered productivity tools. CEO Satya Nadella said the company is benefiting from increasing customer demand as organizations invest in AI-driven digital transformation.
Despite continuing to invest heavily in AI infrastructure, Microsoft reassured investors by maintaining a strong financial outlook. The company spent approximately $41 billion on capital expenditures during the quarter and expects to continue expanding its AI capabilities while remaining cash-flow positive.
Investors responded enthusiastically to the results, sending Microsoft shares sharply higher in after-hours trading as the company’s cloud growth and AI investments eased concerns about rising spending and reinforced confidence in its long-term growth strategy.
Source: Adapted from Yahoo Finance, with financial results confirmed by the Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal. (AP News)
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