Microsoft shares rise over 3% as Azure tops $100B in annual revenue

Microsoft shares surged more than 3% in after hours trading Wednesday after the company reported stronger than expected quarterly revenue and accelerating growth across its Azure cloud business. The stock rose as much as 4% following the results as investors welcomed signs that Microsoft’s massive investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure was translating into faster cloud growth. Microsoft generated $90 billion in revenue during its fiscal fourth quarter, an increase of 18% from $76.4 billion a year earlier. The result exceeded Wall Street expectations of roughly $87.7 billion. Operating income increased 18% to $40.6 billion, while net income rose 31% to $35.8 billion. Diluted earnings reached $4.81 per share on a reported basis. Excluding the effect of Microsoft’s OpenAI investments, earnings were $4.74 per share, above analysts’ expectations of $4.24. The quarter also included a $3.2 billion gain from Microsoft’s investment in Anthropic, along with lower than expected expenses related to its voluntary retirement program. Those benefits were partly offset by severance expenses and impairment charges connected to Xbox. Azure and other cloud services revenue increased 43%...