Azure revenue up 48 per cent, pretty much everything Redmond makes is up
Microsoft on Tuesday reported $37.2bn in revenue for the first quarter of its fiscal 2021, an increase of 12 per cent year over year and more than investors had anticipated. In terms of diluted earnings per share, that translates to $1.82, an increase of 32 per cent year over year. Financial analysts on average expected revenue of $35.72bn and earnings per share amounting to $1.54. In a statement, Microsoft chief executive officer Satya Nadella said economic performance for businesses over the next decade “will be defined by the speed of their digital transformation,” a forecast that perhaps oversimplifies the criteria for commercial success but at least argues for the purchase of Microsoft products and services. Nadella made that pitch more directly in remarks on Microsoft’s conference call for investors. “In a world of uncertainty and constraints, every person and every organization needs more digital technology to recover and reimagine what comes next,” he said.
