Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has spent the past two years positioning itself as one of artificial intelligence’s biggest builders. But during its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report, the company revealed that simply investing in AI proved lucrative enough to outperform one of its own operating businesses.
Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood disclosed that Microsoft recorded a $3.2 billion gain from its investment in Anthropic during the quarter. The windfall was so large that it exceeded the $2.748 billion of operating income generated by Microsoft’s entire More Personal Computing segment, which includes Windows, devices, Xbox and search advertising, by about 16%.
Anthropic Delivers A Bigger Profit Than Windows, Xbox Segment
The gain wasn’t part of Microsoft’s core operations. Instead, Hood listed it among the items that boosted quarterly earnings beyond the company’s previous guidance.
“These included a $3.2 billion gain from our investment in Anthropic and lower than expected expenses related to the voluntary retirement program, which were partially offset by severance expense and impairment charges in Xbox,” Hood said during the earnings call.
