Microsoft: better than expected results, but slight slowdown on the cloud

Microsoft on Tuesday published net profit and sales up and above expectations for its fourth accounting quarter, but recorded a slight slowdown in the growth of its current flagship activity, remote computing (cloud).

In detail, net profit stands at 20.08 billion dollars, up 20% over one year. Reported by action, the indicator most followed by the market, the result is displayed at 2.69 dollars, more than the 2.55 anticipated by analysts, according to a consensus established by FactSet.

The activity was once again driven by the cloud, which relies heavily on artificial intelligence and now accounts for more than half of the company's turnover (54%). It experienced a growth of 21% over one year. However, this growth rate is slightly lower than that of the previous quarter, which reached 22%.

In electronic trading after the closing of the New York Stock Exchange, the title Microsoft, which has appreciated by almost half since the beginning of the year (47%), fell by 0.99%. The group has bet big on its offer of so-called generative artificial intelligence, that is to say capable of producing useful, precise and documented answers to requests in everyday language. He has invested heavily in the start-up OpenAI, creator of the generative AI interface ChatGPT, launched in November.

Microsoft plans to integrate generative AI into most of its products, software and applications. In mid-July, it announced that the virtual assistant Copilot, integrating the AI, would cost 30 dollars per month, a rate higher than its current entry prices and praised by analysts. The combination of Microsoft and OpenAI as well as the accelerated adoption of generative AI has positioned the company as one of the leaders in this sector, with a small head start on its big rivals Alphabet and Amazon.

In June, Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said the next generation of AI would eventually contribute ten billion dollars a year to the company's revenue. For its fourth accounting quarter, Microsoft generated $56.1 billion in revenue, up 8% year-on-year and above expectations.