Microsoft beats forecasts with $92.3bn revenue as Azure grows 48%
Microsoft earlier this month announced the Surface Ultra laptop, which runs on Nvidia’s artificial-intelligence chips and will cost more than $2,500. Apple announced a similar touchscreen Macbook this week. The launches are part of a broader push by technology companies to release hardware that can handle more AI computing on-device and offline, so users do not have to rely solely on remote cloud data centers, where running AI is slower and more expensive.
Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said in a statement: “We are delivering greater capability, choice, control, and cost-efficiency for customers across our entire stack.”
The hardware announcements landed in the same period as Microsoft’s quarterly results. Microsoft recorded $92.3 billion in total revenue and more than $36.6 billion in profit, the company said in a securities filing Wednesday. Analysts had expected around $90.6 billion in revenue and $35.1 billion in profit, according to FactSet. Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing division grew 48% in the September quarter, and Microsoft gained billions of dollars in stock-market value Wednesday afternoon after it reported better-than-expected revenue and profit.
The earnings report came two days after Microsoft offered voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees, roughly a quarter of its workforce, as the company spends heavily on artificial-intelligence investments. It was the second voluntary buyout offer Microsoft has made this year, after giving 7% of its US workforce the option to retire early in April. Microsoft had 223,000 employees globally at the end of June, down from 228,000 at the end of 2025, according to regulatory filings.
The Surface Ultra announcement and Apple’s Macbook launch placed Microsoft’s on-device hardware push in the same news cycle as Azure’s 48% growth and the company’s broad voluntary buyout offer.