Microsoft (MSFT) Q3 earnings 2024

Microsoft will report financial results for its fiscal third quarter after the market closes Thursday.

Here’s what analysts are looking for, according to LSEG:

• Earnings per share: $2.82 expected
• Income: $60.80 billion expected

This would imply revenue growth of 15.0% year-over-year, slightly higher than the 14.5% guidance given by management in January. Analysts raised their forecasts after technology sector researcher Gartner estimated that PC shipments rose 0.9% in the quarter. The data point takes into account sales of Windows operating system licenses to PC manufacturers.

Analysts polled by CNBC expect Azure cloud services growth to slow to 28.8%, down from 30% in the previous quarter. The StreetAccount consensus for Azure’s growth is 28.6%.

During the quarter, Microsoft introduced Surface PCs with a key for quick access to the Copilot chatbot. The company began selling access to Copilot to small businesses with subscriptions to Microsoft 365 productivity software and hired Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of artificial intelligence lab DeepMind, to lead a new Microsoft AI group. Suleyman had been co-founder and CEO of the startup Inflection, and many of his employees also joined Microsoft.

“We have worked with speed and intensity and this infusion of new talent will allow us to accelerate our pace once again,” CEO Satya Nadella wrote in a note about the deal with Inflection, which would be worth of 650 million dollars.

This is the first full quarter of sales of the Copilot add-on for Microsoft 365 business customers. In a note released Sunday, Piper Sandler analysts warned customers not to expect many financial details from the company. from Microsoft.

Year to date, Microsoft stock is up 4%, while the S&P 500 index has gained about 5%.

Executives will review results and issue guidance on a conference call with analysts starting at 5:30 p.m. ET.

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