Microsoft Sales Top Estimates

Microsoft Sales Top Estimates
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Microsoft’s cloud-fueled turnaround persisted in the fiscal fourth quarter, when sales and profit got a boost from customers, according to Bloomberg.

Profit in the period ended June 30 rose to $8.87 billion, or $1.14 a share, topping the $1.08 average per-share estimate of analysts. Sales climbed 17 percent to $30.1 billion, Microsoft said in a statement, higher than predictions for $29.2 billion. Annual sales also topped $100 billion for the first time in company history.

Commercial cloud sales rose 53 percent to $6.9 billion, the company said. Gross margin for that business widened by 6 percentage points to 58 percent. Microsoft has been posting improved profitability as it adds customers, enabling it to run services more efficiently and spread costs across more clients. During the fourth quarter, the company also agreed to acquire code-sharing website GitHub for $7.5 billion in stock, aimed at accelerating moves into the cloud and artificial intelligence.

Sales of Intelligent Cloud products, Azure and server software, rose 23 percent to $9.61 billion, above the $9.07 billion average estimate. Productivity software, mainly Office sales, rose 13 percent to $9.67 billion. That compares with the $9.64 billion average estimate.

In the fourth quarter, revenue in the More Personal Computing unit rose 17 percent to $10.8 billion, compared with a $10.5 billion average estimate. Surface hardware sales rose 25 percent from a year ago, and gaming revenue increased 39 percent, fueled by demand for third-party titles for the Xbox console. Gaming revenue for the full year topped $10 billion for the first time.