Microsoft Revenue Growth and Earnings Expectations
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) experienced accelerated revenue growth in its fiscal third quarter, achieving a 13% year-over-year increase, an improvement from 12% in the previous quarter. When adjusted for foreign exchange, revenue rose 15%. The anticipated earnings report is scheduled for July 30, and investors are keen to evaluate the stock, which has increased 42% from April 21 to July 17.
Driving this growth is a 21% rise in the company’s intelligent cloud segment, which includes Azure. Operating income also grew 16%, marking a strong performance across various business sectors. Despite the robust growth, Microsoft currently trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of nearly 40, raising questions among investors about potential overvaluation.
Additionally, Microsoft maintains a dividend, yielding 0.7%, with the payout being less than 25% of its earnings. The company has consistently increased its dividend for 23 years and returned $9.7 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases in the last fiscal quarter, up 15% year-over-year.
