Reuters :
Microsoft Corp on Tuesday forecast double-digit revenue growth for the next fiscal year, driven by demand for cloud computing services, and its shares jumped about 4 per cent.
Microsoft forecast Intelligent Cloud revenue of $21.1 billion to $21.35 billion for its fiscal fourth quarter, driven by strong growth in its Azure platform. That compared with a Wall Street consensus of $20.933 billion, reports Reuters citing Refinitiv data.
“If there is any macro headwind, where you have more value for less price means you win. In our case, when it comes to our commercial cloud offerings, we have significant advantages on that across the stack,” Microsoft’s chief executive, Satya Nadella, said when asked how the company was projecting double-digit growth for the next fiscal year.
TECHnalysis Research chief analyst Bob O’Donnell noted Microsoft’s ability to buck industry trends.
“Despite current gloom and doom around big tech, Microsoft’s strong revenues and robust forecast highlight that not all tech is at risk,” O’Donnell said. “For companies that focus on delivering products and services that businesses need to modernize their operations … there’s still plenty of upsides.”
Microsoft on Tuesday reported profit and revenue for its fiscal third quarter that beat Wall Street expectations, also benefiting from demand for its cloud-based services.
Microsoft results indicate that it can keep its pandemic-fueled sales growing as economies reopen and businesses shift to a hybrid model of allowing staff to alternatively work from the office and home.
That trend is also helping drive up revenue of Windows products, said Brett Iversen, Microsoft’s general manager of investor relations. “Strength in the commercial PC market drove Windows OEM revenue up 11 per cent,” he told Reuters.
