Microsoft Posts 19% Revenue Growth as Azure Revenue Rises 48%

Microsoft posted 19% revenue growth for its fiscal first quarter and 48% Azure growth, giving investors a fresh measure of demand for its cloud business.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 reached $92.279 billion. Operating income increased 21% to $45.915 billion, and diluted earnings per share under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) rose 32% to $4.92.

Azure revenue grew 48%, while Microsoft Cloud revenue increased 30% to $63.9 billion. Azure’s growth rate exceeded the increases in Microsoft Cloud revenue and companywide revenue. Microsoft’s contracted commercial revenue backlog reached $677 billion, a 73% increase.

Microsoft recorded GAAP net income of $36.629 billion and non-GAAP net income of $36.422 billion. GAAP diluted earnings per share was $4.92, compared with $4.89 on a non-GAAP basis. A $207 million net gain from OpenAI investments increased GAAP net income by the same amount and added 3 cents to diluted earnings per share; the non-GAAP figure excludes that per-share impact.

In the preceding reported quarter, ended June 30, Microsoft Cloud revenue was $59.3 billion, up 27% year over year, while Azure and other cloud services revenue increased 43%.

“Results exceeded expectations across revenue, operating income, and earnings per share,” Amy Hood, Microsoft’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, said.

The results followed an earlier preview of Microsoft’s Oct. 28 earnings date.