Microsoft beats expectations as Azure revenue jumps 48%

Microsoft reported quarterly results above expectations, driven by accelerated growth in its Azure cloud platform, which provides computing power to businesses, particularly for artificial intelligence. Revenue rose to $92.3 billion year-over-year. Azure revenue, representing a third of total sales, grew 48% year-over-year, up from 42% in the previous quarter. Net income increased 32% to $36.6 billion, while cloud services revenue rose 30% to $63.9 billion. The results follow Microsoft's offer of voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees amid heavy AI investment. Equipment spending doubled to $39.4 billion, funded without new debt, and the company's order backlog reached $677 billion.