Microsoft Azure Revenue Jumps 48 Percent to 33.2 Billion Dollars
Microsoft reported revenue of $92.3 billion, up 19 percent, as Azure cloud revenue grew 48 percent to $33.2 billion in its fiscal first quarter on AI demand.
Microsoft Azure revenue growth accelerated in the fiscal first quarter ended September 30, 2026, with the cloud business reporting revenue of $33.17 billion, up 48 percent from $22.38 billion a year earlier. It was the first time Microsoft disclosed Azure revenue in dollar terms, and the result beat both the company own guidance of about 44 to 45 percent and analysts forecasts. Azure accounted for nearly three quarters of the company net increase in revenue, showing how central cloud computing has become to the business. Demand continued to exceed supply, management said, as customers expanded their use of cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence tools.
Total company revenue rose 19 percent to $92.28 billion, above the roughly $90.7 billion expected, while Microsoft Cloud revenue rose 30 percent to $63.9 billion. Adjusted earnings reached $4.89 per share, up 18 percent, and operating income rose 21 percent to $45.9 billion. The company also reported capital spending of $45.2 billion in the quarter, including finance leases, as it built data centre capacity to meet demand. Free cash flow fell 27 percent to $18.63 billion, reflecting that heavy investment, a trade-off management described as necessary to support future growth in cloud and AI services.
Microsoft Azure revenue growth outlook
For the quarter ending December 31, Microsoft guided to revenue of $96.0 billion to $97.1 billion and Azure growth of 49 to 50 percent in constant currency, an even faster pace than the quarter just reported. The finance chief said capital spending would exceed $50 billion in the next quarter, with about $170 billion planned for calendar 2026. That spending underlines a simple point: the company sees demand for cloud capacity continuing to rise, and it is willing to spend heavily to capture it. For customers, the result means more cloud capacity coming online, though supply limits may persist for a time. For investors, the quarter offered a clear story of strong cloud growth paired with rising costs, and the next quarter will test whether the investment pays off in the same way.
Source: IndMoney
