Technology giant Microsoft issued second quarter earnings that missed analyst expectations on
both the top and bottom lines.
The software company reported that it earned $2.23 U.S. per share versus $2.29 U.S. per share
that was expected on Wall Street, according to Refinitiv data. Revenue in the quarter totaled
$51.87 billion U.S. versus $52.44 billion U.S. that was forecast.
Microsoft’s second quarter revenue growth was the slowest since 2020 at 12% year-over-year.
The Seattle-based company’s earnings per share fell short of consensus estimates for the first
time since 2016, with net income rising just 2% to $16.74 billion U.S.
The company blamed the poor financial results on worsening sales of personal computers and
slower cloud infrastructure growth.
Looking ahead, Microsoft said it expects revenue of between $49.25 billion U.S. to $50.25 billion
U.S. in the current quarter, which would represent 10% growth. However, analysts polled by
Refinitiv had expected $51.49 billion U.S. revenue growth.
In the most recent quarter, Microsoft said it was also challenged by foreign-exchange rates,
which reduced its revenue by $595 million U.S. and its earnings by $0.04 U.S. per share.
Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud unit, which includes the Azure public cloud for application hosting,
earned $20.91 billion U.S. in revenue, up 20% but below the consensus of $21.10 billion U.S.
among analysts.
Microsoft stock has fallen 25% this year and currently trades at $251.90 U.S. per share.
