Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks at a fireside chat with the CEO of German carmaker Volkswagen (unseen) where they unveiled their cooperation for the Volkswagen Automotive Cloud in Berlin on February 27, 2019.
Tobias Schwarz | AFP | Getty Images
Microsoft shares fell as much as 3% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded analysts’ expectations.
Here’s how the company did:
- Earnings: $1.46 per share, adjusted, vs. $1.34 per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
- Revenue: $38.03 billion, vs. $36.50 billion as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
Microsoft’s overall revenue grew 13% on an annualized basis in the quarter, which ended on June 30, according to a statement. Revenue went up 15% in the prior quarter.
The company’s earnings were pulled down slightly by a shift in Microsoft’s retail strategy. On June 26 Microsoft said it would close its physical stores, resulting in a one-time charge of $450 million, or 5 cents per share, before taxes.
Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud business segment, which includes the Azure public cloud, Windows Server, SQL Server, GitHub and enterprise services, posted $13.37 billion in revenue, up 17% year over year and above the $13.11 billion consensus among analysts polled by FactSet. Azure revenue growth slowed to 47% from 59% in the previous quarter. Microsoft does not disclose Azure revenue in dollars, but did say its commercial cloud business surpassed $50 billion in revenue for the fiscal year.
Capital expenditures came to $5.8 billion, almost double what it was three years ago as the company looks to expand the infrastructure to deliver Azure and its own online services.
The Productivity and Business Processes unit, which contains Office, Dynamics and LinkedIn, contributed $11.75 billion in revenue. That’s up 6% and less than the FactSet consensus of $11.91 billion. LinkedIn’s revenue grew 10%, the slowest growth since 2016 as Microsoft closed the $27 billion acquisition.
The company’s More Personal Computing unit, including Windows, Surface and Xbox, had $12.91 billion in quarterly revenue, which is 14% and higher than the $11.48 billion FactSet consensus. Xbox content and services revenue was up 65% with record engagement as people stayed from home and played games. Sales of licenses for commercial Windows devices shrank 4%, the slowest growth since 2016, while licenses for consumer devices accelerated to 34%
In the quarter Microsoft disclosed a plan to shut down its Mixer video game streaming service, and announced the acquisitions of CyberX, Metaswitch and Softomotive. Industry research group Gartner estimated that PC shipments, a factor in Microsoft’s Windows sales, returned to year-over-year growth in the quarter, following a decline in the first quarter in connection with the pandemic.
With respect to guidance, analysts polled by Refinitiv are looking for $35.91 billion in revenue for the fiscal first quarter.
Executives will discuss the fiscal fourth-quarter results on a conference call with analysts starting at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time.
Microsoft shares are up about 34% since the beginning of the year.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
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