Microsoft(US:MSFT)2026-01-28 23:32Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Revenue for the quarter was $81.3 billion, up 17% year-over-year and 15% in constant currency [25] - Gross margin dollars increased by 16% and operating income rose by 21% [25] - Earnings per share was $4.14, reflecting a 24% increase year-over-year [25] - Company gross margin percentage was 68%, slightly down year-over-year due to investments in AI infrastructure [26] - Operating expenses increased by 5%, driven by R&D investments [26] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Microsoft Cloud revenue reached $51.5 billion, growing 26% year-over-year [31] - Productivity and Business Processes revenue was $34.1 billion, up 16% year-over-year [31] - M365 Commercial Cloud revenue increased by 17%, with paid M365 commercial seats growing 6% to over 450 million [32] - Intelligent Cloud segment revenue was $32.9 billion, growing 29% year-over-year [33] - More Personal Computing revenue declined by 3% to $14.3 billion [36] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Commercial bookings increased by 230%, driven by large Azure commitments from OpenAI [30] - Commercial remaining performance obligation (RPO) increased to $625 billion, up 110% year-over-year [30] - Azure revenue grew by 39%, slightly ahead of expectations [34] - LinkedIn revenue increased by 11%, driven by marketing solutions [24] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on AI diffusion and its impact on GDP, with significant investments in AI infrastructure [6] - Microsoft aims to build a comprehensive AI business that integrates across its platforms, enhancing customer experiences [10] - The strategy includes expanding sovereignty solutions to meet local data residency needs [9] - The company is investing in both first-party and third-party AI models to enhance its offerings [11] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the growth of AI and its integration into various business lines, emphasizing the importance of infrastructure investments [6][9] - The company anticipates continued strong demand across its cloud services, with a focus on balancing supply and demand [34] - Management highlighted the importance of long-term investments in R&D and product innovation to drive future growth [50] Other Important Information - Capital expenditures for the quarter were $37.5 billion, with a significant portion allocated to short-lived assets like GPUs and CPUs [27] - The company returned $12.7 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, a 32% increase year-over-year [29] - The company is seeing strong momentum in its Copilot offerings, with significant increases in daily active users and paid seats [18] Q&A Session Summary Question: Concerns about CapEx growth and Azure revenue - Management acknowledged the correlation between CapEx and Azure revenue, emphasizing long-term investments in infrastructure to meet demand [48][50] Question: Line of sight from hardware CapEx to revenue and margins - Management clarified that much of the capital spent is already contracted for the useful life of the hardware, reducing risk [60][61] Question: Durability of OpenAI-related backlog - Management expressed confidence in the breadth and diversification of their RPO, highlighting strong growth across various customer segments [68] Question: Capacity additions and their impact - Management confirmed ongoing efforts to add capacity globally, emphasizing the need for efficient operations across multiple locations [75] Question: Performance of Maia 200 accelerator - Management highlighted the significance of silicon innovation and its role in enhancing performance and cost efficiency for AI workloads [80]