In the fiscal third quarter, Microsoft outperformed expectations thanks to its robust cloud computing business. As a result, the company’s stock soared in after-hours trading following the earnings report.
For the quarter ended March 31, Microsoft reported earnings of $2.94 per share on sales of $61.9 billion. Analysts had predicted earnings of $2.82 per share on sales of $60.9 billion. In the same quarter a year ago, Microsoft earned $2.45 per share on sales of $52.9 billion.
Microsoft’s stock price increased more than 4% in after-hours trading to $416.74 following the earnings report. However, during the regular trading session on Thursday, the stock had dropped 2.5% to close at $399.04.
In addition to being included in two IBD stock lists: Long-Term Leaders and Tech Leaders, Microsoft is also one of the Magnificent Seven stocks, indicating its strong performance in the market. Keep up with consumer technology, software, and semiconductor stocks by following Patrick Seitz on X, formerly Twitter, at @IBD_PSeitz for more updates and insights from the earnings report soon to come.
