Software titan Microsoft (MSFT) late Wednesday easily topped Wall Street's targets for its fiscal third quarter thanks to strong sales of cloud computing services. The Microsoft earnings news pushed MSFT stock north in extended trading.
XThe Redmond, Wash.-based company earned $1.40 a share on sales of $35.02 billion in the quarter ended March 31. Analysts had forecast Microsoft earnings of $1.26 a share on sales of $33.66 billion. On a year-over-year basis, Microsoft earnings rose 23% while sales climbed 15%.
The work-from-home and home-schooling trends spurred by the coronavirus pandemic gave Microsoft services a boost in the March quarter. But the Covid-19 crisis had a "minimal net impact" on total company revenue in the period, the Microsoft earnings news release said.
"We've seen two years' worth of digital transformation in two months," Chief Executive Satya Nadella said in a press release. "From remote teamwork and learning, to sales and customer service, to critical cloud infrastructure and security — we are working alongside customers every day to help them adapt and stay open for business in a world of remote everything."
Commercial Cloud Lifts Microsoft Earnings
Microsoft's Commercial Cloud business saw revenue jump 30% year over year to $13.3 billion in its fiscal third quarter. Commercial Cloud includes Azure infrastructure services, Office 365 productivity software and other offerings.
The company's Productivity and Business Processes and Intelligent Cloud segments saw an increase in cloud usage in the March quarter. Customers increased their use of Microsoft 365 including Teams, Azure, Windows Virtual Desktop and other products as they shifted to work and learn from home.
However, in the final weeks of the quarter, Microsoft saw a slowdown in transactional licensing, particularly in small and medium businesses, and a reduction in advertising spend in LinkedIn.
Microsoft's More Personal Computing segment benefited from Windows software and Surface computer sales to support remote work and learn scenarios. But gains were offset by hardware supply constraints in China that improved late in the quarter.
The Microsoft Xbox video game business saw increased user engagement following stay-at-home guidelines. But Microsoft's search advertising business was hurt by reductions in ad spending, particularly in the industries most impacted by Covid-19.
MSFT Stock Jumps In Late Trading
In after-hours trading on the stock market today, Microsoft stock rose 3%, near 182.80. During the regular session Wednesday, MSFT stock surged 4.5% to 177.43 ahead of the Microsoft earnings news.
On April 16, MSFT stock broke out of a double-bottom base at a buy point of 175.10, according to IBD MarketSmith charts. In the days that followed, MSFT stock stayed near that buy point and traded in and out of the 5% chase zone. It was solidly back in the buy zone late Wednesday.
Follow Patrick Seitz on Twitter at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
These Semiconductor Stocks Popped Higher On Upbeat Earnings Reports
AMD Earnings Jump 200% But Stock Falls On Sales Outlook
How To Research Growth Stocks: Why This IBD Tool Simplifies The Search For Top Stocks
Get Stock Ideas From IBD Experts Each Morning Before The Open
Business - Latest - Google News
April 30, 2020 at 05:21AM
https://ift.tt/2W8KPaQ
Microsoft Earnings Beat Views; MSFT Stock In Buy Zone - Investor's Business Daily
Business - Latest - Google News
https://ift.tt/2Rx7A4Y
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Microsoft Earnings Beat Views; MSFT Stock In Buy Zone - Investor's Business Daily"
Post a Comment