Microsoft’s Bottom-Line Beat Isn’t Enough to Sway Investors

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By Chris Lange Updated Published
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Microsoft’s Bottom-Line Beat Isn’t Enough to Sway Investors

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Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) released fiscal third-quarter financial results after markets closed Tuesday. The firm said that it had $1.95 in earnings per share (EPS) and $41.7 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates that called for $1.78 in EPS and $41.03 billion in revenue. The same period from last year had $1.40 in EPS and $35.02 billion in revenue.

In terms of its segments, the company reported:

  • Revenue in Productivity and Business Processes was $13.6 billion and increased 15% (up 12% in constant currency)
  • Revenue in Intelligent Cloud was $15.1 billion and increased 23% (up 20% in constant currency)
  • Revenue in More Personal Computing was $13.0 billion and increased 19% (up 16% in constant currency)

Note that Server products and cloud services revenue increased 26% (up 23% in constant currency) driven by Azure revenue growth of 50% (up 46% in constant currency). This earnings report in particular was propelled by growth in the cloud. The Microsoft Cloud, generated $17.7 billion in commercial cloud revenue, up 33% year over year.

The company did not issue any guidance in the report. However, consensus estimates are calling for $1.78 in EPS and $42.98 billion in revenue for the coming quarter.

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Microsoft returned $10.0 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends in the quarter, an increase of 1% year over year.

On the books, cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments totaled $125.41 billion at the end of the quarter, versus $136.53 billion at the end of fiscal 2019.

Shares of Microsoft closed Tuesday at $267.97, with a 52-week range of $169.39 to $262.70. The consensus analyst price target is $276.77. Following the announcement, the stock was initially down about 3.5% at $252.92 in the after-hours trading session.

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Photo of Chris Lange
About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.

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