Microsoft sailing through Q3 2023

Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles. © iStock.

While many tech companies are announcing overcast results at best, Microsoft, whose fiscal year runs July to June, is keeping up its cruising speed. The tech giant earned 52.9 billion USD and netted 18.3 billion during a commendable Q3 2023. That’s an increase of 7% in revenue and 9% in net income. Upon closer inspection, it comes as no surprise that sales of Windows to PC makers fell by 24%. This is due to disastrous market conditions. There was also a 30% decrease in the sale of hardware such as the Surface line of products, PC accessories, Xbox consoles, and other niche devices such as HoloLens. Bleak news on the hardware side doesn’t obscure sunnier skies elsewhere. Microsoft earned nearly 1 billion USD in Game Pass subscriptions. Office, cloud, and server computing are the tall ships of the fiscal period. Revenue on server products and cloud services increased by 17%, and by 27% for Azure. The number of Microsoft 365 subscriptions increased by 12% this quarter, reaching 65.4 million subscribers. This is fair-weather performance given the global market conditions.

⇨ The Verge, Tom Warren, “Microsoft Q3 2023: Windows, devices, and Xbox down again.”

2023-04-25