Microsoft’s cloud business boosts quarterly revenue
By Shubhangi on Oct 27, 2021 | 03:37 AM IST
• Microsoft reported 22% rise in first-quarter revenue
• Microsoft Azure’s revenue surged 48% due to high demand
Microsoft Corp reported on Tuesday a revenue boost of 22% in the first-quarter of 2022 as the demand of its cloud-based services surged in the pandemic.
Revenue rose to $45.32 billion in the quarter ended September 30, beating expectations of about $43.97 billion.
Microsoft’s “Intelligent Cloud” segment showed revenue growth of 31% to $17 billion, compared to expectations of $16.59 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
Since offices and schools have been shut down due to the pandemic, demand of cloud services from tech companies including Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet have skyrocketed.
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Revenue growth of Microsoft’s cloud-computing business, Azure surged 48%, beating analysts’ expectations of 47.5%, according to data from Visible Alpha.
Microsoft’s other business units including Windows, Teams and LinkedIn also performed well in the quarter.
Supply chain issues
Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft, said that due to the supply chain issues the company faced higher costs for building data centers but was able to reduce those costs.
Other businesses
Sales of Xbox gaming consoles and accessories climbed 166% due to strong demand of new models. Microsoft, though, has been unable to meet demand due to global chip shortage.
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Revenue from selling Windows to PC makers rose 10% while the revenue from overall PC market grew 3.9% over the same period due to supply constraints.
Net income of Microsoft increased to $20.51 billion, or $2.71 per share. On an adjusted basis, it earned $2.27 per share, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 per share.
Shares of the company were marginally up in extended trading.
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