Microsoft Reaps the Benefits of AI Investment; Azure Growth Surges 43% in a Surprise Result

[Financial News, New York = Reporter Lee Byung-chul] Microsoft (MS) reported cloud results that beat market expectations, drawing praise that its large-scale investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure is beginning to pay off.
On the 29th (local time), MS said revenue for the second quarter came to $90.01 billion, while adjusted earnings per share (EPS) reached $4.74. Both figures topped market forecasts. After the earnings release, MS shares rose about 2% in after-hours trading.
AI growth was led by the cloud business. Microsoft Azure revenue jumped 43% from a year earlier, exceeding market expectations of about 40%. Annual Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Revenue in the productivity and business processes segment, which includes Office, Dynamics and LinkedIn, also came in above market estimates.
CEO Satya Nadella said, "Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time, and paid Microsoft 365 Copilot accounts also topped 30 million." He added, "This shows that companies trust Microsoft as they push ahead with their AI transformation."
Market watchers said the results could help ease concerns about AI infrastructure spending. Google Cloud had already posted growth far above expectations, and MS has now confirmed that demand for AI cloud services remains solid.
The company kept up its investment push. MS plans to invest about $190 billion in AI infrastructure this year, and capital expenditures for April through June reached $41 billion, up more than 70% from a year earlier. Still, that was slightly below the market forecast of $42.37 billion.




[email protected] Reporter Lee Byung-chul Reporter