Microsoft announces financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024
Today, Microsoft unveiled its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, reporting revenues of $56.517 billion, a 13% increase from the $50.122 billion in the same period last year. This not only exceeded Microsoft’s prior forecast of $53.8 billion to $54.8 billion but also surpassed the market’s expected $54.94 billion. Furthermore, net profit stood at $22.291 billion, up 27% from the previous year’s $17.556 billion, with diluted earnings per share rising to $2.99 from the prior year’s $2.35, marking a 27% growth.
Microsoft’s performance in the first quarter of 2024 was exceptionally stellar, recording the fastest revenue growth in six quarters and consistently outpacing analyst expectations. Breaking down by business units, the Productivity and Business Processes segment garnered $18.6 billion in revenues, a 13% year-over-year growth; the Intelligent Cloud segment generated $24.3 billion, up by 19% from the previous year; while the More Personal Computing segment collected $13.7 billion, a modest 3% growth year-over-year. Additionally, during this quarter, Microsoft returned $9.1 billion to its shareholders through stock buybacks and dividends.
Sales in this quarter were invigorated by artificial intelligence (AI) products, significantly bolstering Microsoft’s revenue and profit growth. Notably, revenue from the Azure platform surged by 29%, surpassing the general analyst projection of 26%. However, it’s noteworthy that hardware revenue, which includes products like the Surface and Xbox gaming console, declined by 22% year-over-year, continuing a trend seen in previous quarters.
Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, articulated that with the propulsion of the AI assistant Copilot, Microsoft is pioneering a genuine AI era for individuals and enterprises worldwide. The company is swiftly integrating AI across every tier of its technological stack, encompassing every role and business process, thereby augmenting its clientele’s productivity.
Projecting into the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, Microsoft anticipates revenues to hover between $60.4 billion and $61.4 billion, with a median forecast of $60.9 billion, marking a 15% growth year-over-year, largely in alignment with market projections. Following the release of the latest financial report, Microsoft’s stock price soared by $12.07 to $342.60 in post-market trading on July 24, 2023, Eastern Time, a rise of 3.65%.
