智通财经网·2026-01-29 00:09Core Viewpoint - Microsoft reported strong financial results for Q2 of FY2026, exceeding Wall Street expectations in both revenue and profit, but concerns over slowing Azure growth and record capital expenditures led to a significant drop in stock price after hours [1][2]. Financial Performance - For the second quarter ending December 31, Microsoft achieved revenue of $81.27 billion, a year-over-year increase of approximately 17%, surpassing the market expectation of $80.3 billion. Net profit reached $38.46 billion, with earnings per share (EPS) of $5.16, significantly exceeding the expected $3.92. Adjusted EPS was $4.14, also above expectations [2]. - The substantial increase in net profit was partly due to changes in accounting treatment for the investment in OpenAI, contributing an additional $1.02 to EPS [2]. Cloud Business Performance - Microsoft's "Intelligent Cloud" segment, including Azure, generated revenue of $32.91 billion, a nearly 29% year-over-year increase, slightly above expectations. However, the growth rate of Azure and other cloud services raised concerns [3]. - Azure and other cloud services revenue grew by 38% year-over-year at constant currency, matching analyst predictions but slowing by one percentage point from the previous quarter. This deceleration disappointed investors betting on stronger cloud performance [3]. Capital Expenditures and AI Investment Concerns - Microsoft reported a significant increase in capital expenditures, reaching $37.5 billion, a 66% year-over-year rise, exceeding analyst expectations of $36.2 billion. Approximately two-thirds of this expenditure was allocated to computing chips for data centers to meet AI demand [4]. - CEO Satya Nadella noted an increase of nearly 1 gigawatt in computing capacity during the quarter. Despite the substantial investment, the company faces challenges in rapidly expanding sufficient computing capacity to meet demand [4]. - The "remaining performance obligations" (RPO), indicating future revenue from signed contracts, reached a record $625 billion, more than doubling year-over-year. Notably, 45% of this figure is attributed to agreements with OpenAI, highlighting Microsoft's reliance on the AI startup [4][5]. Other Business Segments - The productivity and business processes segment, including Office, Dynamics, and LinkedIn, generated revenue of $34.12 billion, a 16% year-over-year increase, exceeding expectations. Microsoft also reported that its AI assistant, Microsoft 365 Copilot, has gained 15 million commercial user seats, indicating initial adoption momentum [5]. - The personal computing segment, which includes Windows, Xbox, Surface, and Bing, reported revenue of $14.25 billion, a slight year-over-year decline of about 3%, slightly below expectations. Game revenue decreased by 9.5% [6]. Industry Competition and Stock Pressure - Microsoft is the first of the three major cloud service companies to report quarterly financial results, serving as a key indicator of the efficiency of tech giants' AI investments. The total capital expenditure in AI by Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta is expected to exceed $500 billion this year [7]. - In contrast to Microsoft's post-earnings stock decline, Meta's stock rose significantly after announcing increased AI spending, reflecting differing market expectations regarding AI strategies. Meta's projected annual capital expenditures are between $115 billion and $135 billion, above analyst estimates [7]. - Analysts noted that Google's strong performance with its latest Gemini model and the emergence of competitors like Anthropic are putting pressure on Microsoft's AI business and traditional software [7]. - Microsoft's stock closed at $481.63, experiencing a drop of over 7% in after-hours trading following the earnings report. Over the past three months, Microsoft's stock has declined approximately 11%, underperforming the S&P 500 index, which rose by 1% during the same period [7].