MICROSOFT EXCEEDS QUARTERLY REVENUE ESTIMATES ON CLOUD GROWTH

Microsoft has become one of the most valuable companies in the world by betting heavily on corporate software and services, especially its cloud services and the movement to the web of its Outlook email and calendar software, known as Office 365.

The switch to working and learning from home during the pandemic also attracted more users to Microsoft’s office communication software and services such as Teams and Office 365. And demand for cloud services from Microsoft and rivals Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc surged as the pandemic outbreak accelerated a shift online.

Revenue from Microsoft’s biggest segment, which offers cloud services and includes Azure, its flagship cloud offering, rose 26 percent, while the business that houses its Office 365 services increased 19 percent in the quarter.

Net income rose to $18.77bn, or $2.48 per share, from $15.46bn, or $2.03 per share, a year earlier.

The company said revenue rose to $51.73bn in the three months ended December 31, from $43.08bn a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected revenue of $50.88bn, according to Refinitiv data.

Investors are also focused on Microsoft’s proposed $69bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc, announced on January 18 – a huge expansion for its gaming division. It also broadens the company’s efforts in the so-called metaverse, or the merging of online and offline worlds, which will have corporate and consumer applications.