$Microsoft (MSFT.US)$ Q3 EPS $2.45 beats $2.23 estimate, Sales $52.86B beats $51.02B estimate.

Microsoft Corp. April 25 announced the following results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year:

·         Revenue was $52.9 billion and increased 7% (up 10% in constant currency)

·         Operating income was $22.4 billion and increased 10% (up 15% in constant currency)

·         Net income was $18.3 billion and increased 9% (up 14% in constant currency)

·         Diluted earnings per share was $2.45 and increased 10% (up 14% in constant currency)

“The world's most advanced AI models are coming together with the world's most universal user interface - natural language - to create a new era of computing,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft. “Across the Microsoft Cloud, we are the platform of choice to help customers get the most value out of their digital spend and innovate for this next generation of AI.”

“Focused execution by our sales teams and partners in this dynamic environment resulted in Microsoft Cloud revenue of $28.5 billion, up 22% (up 25% in constant currency) year-over-year,” said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft.

Business Highlights

Revenue in Productivity and Business Processes was $17.5 billion and increased 11% (up 15% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

·         Office Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 13% (up 17% in constant currency) driven by Office 365 Commercial revenue growth of 14% (up 18% in constant currency)

·         Office Consumer products and cloud services revenue increased 1% (up 4% in constant currency) and Microsoft 365 Consumer subscribers grew to 65.4 million

·         LinkedIn revenue increased 8% (up 10% in constant currency)

·         Dynamics products and cloud services revenue increased 17% (up 21% in constant currency) driven by Dynamics 365 revenue growth of 25% (up 29% in constant currency)

Revenue in Intelligent Cloud was $22.1 billion and increased 16% (up 19% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

·         Server products and cloud services revenue increased 17% (up 21% in constant currency) driven by Azure and other cloud services revenue growth of 27% (up 31% in constant currency)

Revenue in More Personal Computing was $13.3 billion and decreased 9% (down 7% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

·         Windows OEM revenue decreased 28%

·         Devices revenue decreased 30% (down 26% in constant currency)

·         Windows Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 14% (up 18% in constant currency)

·         Xbox content and services revenue increased 3% (up 5% in constant currency)

·         Search and news advertising revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs increased 10% (up 13% in constant currency)

Microsoft returned $9.7 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends in the third quarter of fiscal year 2023.