Microsoft said its Azure cloud business surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue in its recently-ended fiscal year, cheering investors in the company even as the broader market plunged on worries over AI spending and U.S. inflation.
Cloud growth in Microsoft’s fiscal fourth quarter increased 43% percent year-over-year, providing a boost to overall quarterly revenue of $90 billion, above analyst estimates of $87.7 billion.
Azure, the core of Microsoft’s cloud business, surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time ever this fiscal year, rising 33% over last year’s $75 billion, Microsoft said. The gain helps cement Microsoft’s Azure as a leading cloud giant behind Amazon Web Services, and as one of the most prominent providers of the infrastructure undergirding the AI era.
Shares of Microsoft rose more than 8% in after-hours trading, following a broad market selloff in regular trading Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged by more than 1,100 points on Wednesday while the tech-laden Nasdaq 100 fell more than 2%. Tech stock have taken a drubbing in recent days over fears that rising capital expenditures among big AI-focused tech firms won’t translate into returns fast enough.
