Microsoft has exceeded its expectations and those of the market with revenue of $ 43 billion in the last quarter of 2020, thanks to the acceleration of the digital transition of companies during the pandemic.
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The US computer giant forecast revenues of between 39.5 billion and 40.4 billion for the period from October to November, but it made 43.1 billion dollars, up 17% year on year.
Its net profit stood at 15.5 billion, a jump of 33% during the second quarter of its lagged fiscal year.
Wall Street welcomed these results: the title of the company in Redmond (northwest) took more than 6% during electronic trading after the close of the Stock Exchange.
Microsoft owes its performance to the increased needs of its customers, businesses and individuals, for internet services, ranging from teleworking (Office, Teams, etc.) to entertainment (Xbox) and above all to the hosting of platforms and other IT tools at distance (cloud).
“Last year, we witnessed the dawn of a second wave of digital transformation that concerns all companies and all industries,”
said Satya Nadella, the group's boss quoted in the earnings release.
Azure, its “smart cloud” platform for enterprises, recorded (unspecified) revenue up 50% in the past quarter.
“In summary, we have some amazing numbers to add to the various awards in the tech industry as the cloud party is just beginning, Microsoft leading the way,”
commented Dan Ives, analyst at Wedbush Securities.
Xbox success
The holiday season was also marked by the release in early November of the new Xbox console (the Xbox Series X, marketed from $ 499), shortly after the new PlayStation from competitor Sony.
Xbox division revenue (unspecified) jumped 40% year-on-year.
The sector is one of the big winners of the various containment measures.
In the United States, sales of video games hit a record in 2020, reaching nearly $ 57 billion, according to a report by research firm NPD Group.
Microsoft's “Productivity” subsidiary, which includes the Office office suite, cloud services and the professional social network Linkedin, earned $ 13.4 billion, up 13% year on year.