UPDATED 21:08 EST / JULY 19 2018

CLOUD

As cloud revenue surges, Microsoft crushes earnings expectations

Microsoft Corp.’s shares are trading up more than 3 percent after smashing fiscal fourth-quarter expectations thanks to double-digit growth in each of its businesses.

The Redmond-based firm’s latest earnings report illustrates a company with seemingly unstoppable momentum. For the fourth quarter, Microsoft posted earnings after certain costs such as stock compensation of $1.13 per share. Net income was $8.9 billion, or $1.14 per share, on revenue of $30.1 billion for the quarter, up 17 percent from a year ago.

The numbers blew past expectations, with analysts forecasting earnings per share of $1.08 on $29.2 billion in revenue. The company’s stock was down slightly during the regular trading session before the report, but shares rose 3.4 percent after-hours thanks as well to strong guidance. The company further pleased investors by returning $5.3 billion in the form of share repurchases and dividends during the fourth quarter.

Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella (pictured) said the company topped $100 billion in revenue for its full 2018 fiscal year, in a clear sign its investments in cloud and edge computing were paying off.

“We had an incredible year, surpassing $100 billion in revenue as a result of our teams’ relentless focus on customer success and the trust customers are placing in Microsoft,” Nadella said in a statement.

One of the main reasons for Microsoft’s success is its cloud business, which saw fourth-quarter revenue grow by 23 percent. Cloud revenue clocked in at $32 billion for the year.

Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud Division, which includes its Azure cloud as well as products such as System Center and SQL Server, generated revenue of $9.6 billion, with Azure growing 89 percent. The Commercial Cloud unit, which includes products such as the commercial versions of Office 365 and Dynamics 365, saw revenue grow by 53 percent, to $6.9 billion.

In a call with analysts, Nadella said Azure was increasingly seeing what he called “tier-one workloads” as companies that were previously hesitant to move their most critical applications to the cloud have had a change of heart. He noted that the $1.8 billion increase in Intelligent Cloud revenue was driven almost exclusively by Azure.

That’s not to take anything away from Microsoft’s other businesses. The company’s More Personal Computing division, which remains its largest and includes Windows, devices, gaming and search ads, saw revenue rise 17 percent to $10.8 billion. Productivity and Business Processes, which includes LinkedIn and the rest of Microsoft’s Office and Dynamics products, generated $9.7 billion in revenue, up 13 percent. Of this, LinkedIn contributed $1.46 billion, up 37 percent. Microsoft’s gaming revenue also did well, growing by 39 percent to $2.29 billion.

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Analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights and Strategy pulled no punches in his praise for the company’s quarter, noting its newer cloud businesses grew rapidly while even its noncloud businesses performed well.

“The company drove double-digit revenue growth in every business, which demonstrates to me the firm’s balance,” Moorhead said. “This was a very impressive quarter and it’s hard to say where it can make huge improvements other than driving Azure to triple-digit growth. Satya Nadella and team are hitting on all cylinders at this point.”

The positive quarter shows that Microsoft has found the right balance among its cloud capability, enterprise sales process experience and enterprise needs, added Holger Mueller, principal analyst and vice president of Constellation Research Inc.

“It’s good to see all the other divisions doing well equally, and it’s a little easier to reach the $100 billion milestone when all divisions are doing well,” he said. “But the focus needs to remain on Azure and Office 365 growth.”

For the full year, Microsoft pulled in a net income of $16.6 billion, or $2.13 per share, on revenue of $110.4 billion, up 14 percent from a year ago. The company spent $14.73 billion on research and development during the year.

Amy Hood, Microsoft’s chief financial officer, told analysts the company was expecting revenue of between $27.35 and $28.05 billion for its fiscal first quarter 2019. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting the company to forecast revenue of $27.38 billion, below the midpoint of its guidance.

Microsoft’s stock has soared 23 percent since the beginning of the year.

Image: Bhupindar Nayyar/Flickr

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