Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Business

AI drives up Microsoft revenues to record $62BN

by January 31, 2024
January 31, 2024
AI drives up Microsoft revenues to record $62BN

Microsoft beat Wall Street’s forecasts for second-quarter revenue as new artificial intelligence features helped to attract customers to its Cloud and Windows services.

Revenue rose by 18 per cent to a record $62 billion in the three months to the end of December compared with an ­average estimate from analysts of $61.12 billion.

Revenue at Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud unit, including the Azure cloud computing platform that competes with Amazon AWS and Alphabet’s Google Cloud, rose by 20 per cent to $25.9 billion. Sales of Azure, for which Microsoft does not disclose a dollar figure, increased by 30 per cent.

Although the company’s shares ­slipped by $3.29, or 0.8 per cent, to $404.76 in late trading, Microsoft still maintained its market value at about $3.04 trillion, beating its rival Apple’s $2.91 trillion valuation.

Investors are watching Microsoft’s Azure and Office revenues closely to see what sales come from the tens of billions of dollars the company plans to pour into data centres this year in an effort to ­deliver generative AI. The Washington-based software group, founded by Bill Gates and the late Paul Allen in 1975, has committed to invest more than $10 billion in OpenAI, the ChatGPT maker.

Microsoft also owns the Windows operating system, LinkedIn, the social network, and Xbox, the gaming ­business. It bought Activision Blizzard, the video gaming company, for $69 billion last year. Last week, Microsoft said that it would shed 1,900 employees at ­Activision Blizzard and Xbox, representing about 8 per cent of the overall Microsoft gaming division.

Over the past three months, the ­technology company has rolled out its main AI tool — a $30-a-month “Copilot” for its Microsoft 365 service that can draft emails, make presentations and collate meeting highlights. Early sales of the product showed up in the company’s commercial sales of Office software, where revenue grew by 17 per cent.

Satya Nadella, the chairman and chief executive of Microsoft, said: “With Copilot, we are making the age of AI real for people and businesses everywhere.”

Sales at Microsoft’s More Personal Computing unit, which includes its Windows operating system and gaming business, grew 19 per cent to $16.9 billion due in part to its purchase of Activision ­Blizzard. Analysts had ­expected growth of $16.8 billion.

Microsoft’s productivity and business Process division, which contains the LinkedIn social network in addition to Office sales, reported that sales rose 13 per cent to $19.2 billion, just beating estimates.

Keith Weiss, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, said: “Gen AI has emerged as the top priority for [chief information officers] and Microsoft is uniquely well positioned, with the majority of CIOs expecting to use a Microsoft AI product in the next 12 months.”

Read more:
AI drives up Microsoft revenues to record $62BN

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
United Nations spox insists ‘UNRWA does not work with Hamas’ despite claims employees participated in Oct. 7
next post
Branson backed VC firm raises £250M to back technology start-ups

You may also like

Cost of average UK home rises by just...

February 20, 2023

Should you contact an employee on sick leave?

September 17, 2024

Nearly a quarter of senior finance professionals fear...

September 18, 2023

Apple Faces Lawsuit by US Over Smartphone Market...

March 22, 2024

Female entrepreneurs to add £250b to the economy...

June 7, 2023

Labour to Make Mortgage Guarantee Scheme Permanent for...

June 7, 2024

Housebuilders ‘lobbied against plan for electric car chargers...

September 12, 2022

Sunak makes hand out key roles: Hunt staying...

October 25, 2022

Conservatives Propose Cap on Migrant Visas Amid Election...

June 4, 2024

Secrets of Success: Catherine Storey, CEO of Freshbat

August 1, 2024

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Trump warns of ‘serious consequences’ if Elon Musk funds Democrats

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk jokes about reconsidering stance on Big Beautiful Bill after Schiff’s praise

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk deletes explosive posts about Trump and Epstein files

      June 7, 2025
    • House witness flips script on Dem who ambushed him during hearing with unearthed tweet: ‘Iceberg is ahead’

      June 7, 2025
    • Call with China’s Xi, and Trump-Musk exchange fueled barbs during 20th week in office

      June 7, 2025
    • Trump’s conservative allies warn Congress faces critical ‘test’ with $9.4B spending cut proposal

      June 7, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,152)
    • Investing (2,019)
    • Politics (15,568)
    • Stocks (3,136)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved