Microsoft Cloud Boosts Q3 Results

Microsoft Corp. today announced the following results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year:

  • Revenue was $52.9 billion and increased 7% (up 10% in constant currency)
  • Operating income was $22.4 billion and increased 10% (up 15% in constant currency)
  • Net income was $18.3 billion and increased 9% (up 14% in constant currency)
  • Diluted earnings per share was $2.45 and increased 10% (up 14% in constant currency)

"The world's most advanced AI models are coming together with the world's most universal user interface - natural language - to create a new era of computing," said Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft. "Across the Microsoft Cloud, we are the platform of choice to help customers get the most value out of their digital spend and innovate for this next generation of AI."

"Focused execution by our sales teams and partners in this dynamic environment resulted in Microsoft Cloud revenue of $28.5 billion, up 22% (up 25% in constant currency) year-over-year," said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft.

Business Highlights

Revenue in Productivity and Business Processes was $17.5 billion and increased 11% (up 15% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

  • Office Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 13% (up 17% in constant currency) driven by Office 365 Commercial revenue growth of 14% (up 18% in constant currency)
  • Office Consumer products and cloud services revenue increased 1% (up 4% in constant currency) and Microsoft 365 Consumer subscribers grew to 65.4 million
  • LinkedIn revenue increased 8% (up 10% in constant currency)
  • Dynamics products and cloud services revenue increased 17% (up 21% in constant currency) driven by Dynamics 365 revenue growth of 25% (up 29% in constant currency)

Revenue in Intelligent Cloud was $22.1 billion and increased 16% (up 19% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

  • Server products and cloud services revenue increased 17% (up 21% in constant currency) driven by Azure and other cloud services revenue growth of 27% (up 31% in constant currency)

Revenue in More Personal Computing was $13.3 billion and decreased 9% (down 7% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

  • Windows OEM revenue decreased 28%
  • Devices revenue decreased 30% (down 26% in constant currency)
  • Windows Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 14% (up 18% in constant currency)
  • Xbox content and services revenue increased 3% (up 5% in constant currency)
  • Search and news advertising revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs increased 10% (up 13% in constant currency)

Microsoft returned $9.7 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends in the third quarter of fiscal year 2023.

Business Outlook

Microsoft will provide forward-looking guidance in connection with this quarterly earnings announcement on its earnings conference call and webcast.

Quarterly Highlights, Product Releases, and Enhancements

Every quarter Microsoft delivers hundreds of products, either as new releases, services, or enhancements to current products and services. These releases are a result of significant research and development investments, made over multiple years, designed to help customers be more productive and secure and to deliver differentiated value across the cloud and the edge.

Here are the major product releases and other highlights for the quarter, organized by product categories, to help illustrate how we are accelerating innovation across our businesses while expanding our market opportunities.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)

To better execute on Microsoft's mission, we focus our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) efforts where we can have the most positive impact. To learn more about our latest initiatives and priorities, please visit our investor relations ESG website.

Webcast Details

Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer, Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Alice Jolla, chief accounting officer, Keith Dolliver, deputy general counsel, and Brett Iversen, vice president of investor relations, will host a conference call and webcast at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time (5:30 p.m. Eastern time) today to discuss details of the company's performance for the quarter and certain forward-looking information. The session may be accessed at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor. The webcast will be available for replay through the close of business on April 25, 2024.

Constant Currency

Microsoft presents constant currency information to provide a framework for assessing how our underlying businesses performed excluding the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuations. To present this information, current and comparative prior period results for entities reporting in currencies other than United States dollars are converted into United States dollars using the average exchange rates from the comparative period rather than the actual exchange rates in effect during the respective periods. All growth comparisons relate to the corresponding period in the last fiscal year. Microsoft has provided this non-GAAP financial information to aid investors in better understanding our performance. The non-GAAP financial measures presented in this release should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, the measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Financial Performance Constant Currency Reconciliation

Three Months Ended March 31,
($ in millions, except per share amounts)RevenueOperating Income Net Income Diluted Earnings per Share
2022 As Reported (GAAP) $49,360$20,364$16,728$2.22
2023 As Reported (GAAP)$52,857$22,352$18,299$2.45
Percentage Change Y/Y (GAAP)7%10%9%10%
Constant Currency Impact$(1,482)$(1,069)$(704)$(0.09)
Percentage Change Y/Y Constant Currency10%15%14%14%

Segment Revenue Constant Currency Reconciliation

Three Months Ended March 31,
($ in millions)Productivity and Business ProcessesIntelligent CloudMore Personal Computing
2022 As Reported (GAAP)$15,789$18,987$14,584
2023 As Reported (GAAP)$17,516$22,081$13,260
Percentage Change Y/Y (GAAP)11%16%(9)%
Constant Currency Impact$(587)$(591)$(304)
Percentage Change Y/Y Constant Currency15%19%(7)%

We have recast certain prior period amounts to conform to the way we internally manage and monitor our business.

Selected Product and Service Revenue Constant Currency Reconciliation

Three Months Ended March 31, 2023
Percentage Change Y/Y (GAAP)Constant Currency ImpactPercentage Change Y/Y Constant Currency
Microsoft Cloud revenue22%3%25%
Office Commercial products and cloud services13%4%17%
Office 365 Commercial14%4%18%
Office Consumer products and cloud services1%3%4%
LinkedIn8%2%10%
Dynamics products and cloud services17%4%21%
Dynamics 36525%4%29%
Server products and cloud services17%4%21%
Azure and other cloud services27%4%31%
Windows OEM(28)%0%(28)%
Windows Commercial products and cloud services14%4%18%
Xbox content and services 3%2%5%
Search and news advertising excluding traffic acquisition costs10%3%13%
Devices(30)%4%(26)%

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this release that are "forward-looking statements" are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors such as:

  • intense competition in all of our markets that may lead to lower revenue or operating margins;
  • increasing focus on cloud-based services presenting execution and competitive risks;
  • significant investments in products and services that may not achieve expected returns;
  • acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances that may have an adverse effect on our business;
  • impairment of goodwill or amortizable intangible assets causing a significant charge to earnings;
  • cyberattacks and security vulnerabilities that could lead to reduced revenue, increased costs, liability claims, or harm to our reputation or competitive position;
  • disclosure and misuse of personal data that could cause liability and harm to our reputation;
  • the possibility that we may not be able to protect information stored in our products and services from use by others;
  • abuse of our advertising, professional, marketplace, or gaming platforms that may harm our reputation or user engagement;
  • the development of the internet of things presenting security, privacy, and execution risks;
  • issues about the use of artificial intelligence in our offerings that may result in competitive harm, legal liability, or reputational harm;
  • excessive outages, data losses, and disruptions of our online services if we fail to maintain an adequate operations infrastructure;
  • quality or supply problems;
  • government litigation and regulatory activity relating to competition rules that may limit how we design and market our products;
  • potential consequences under trade, anti-corruption, and other laws resulting from our global operations;
  • laws and regulations relating to the handling of personal data that may impede the adoption of our services or result in increased costs, legal claims, fines, or reputational damage;
  • claims against us that may result in adverse outcomes in legal disputes;
  • uncertainties relating to our business with government customers;
  • additional tax liabilities;
  • the possibility that we may fail to protect our source code;
  • legal changes, our evolving business model, piracy, and other factors may decrease the value of our intellectual property;
  • claims that Microsoft has infringed the intellectual property rights of others;
  • damage to our reputation or our brands that may harm our business and operating results;
  • adverse economic or market conditions that may harm our business;
  • catastrophic events or geo-political conditions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, that may disrupt our business;
  • exposure to increased economic and operational uncertainties from operating a global business, including the effects of foreign currency exchange and
  • the dependence of our business on our ability to attract and retain talented employees.
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