While Microsoft’s existing business lines continue to generate significant revenue, the company’s newer ventures, particularly in artificial intelligence, are growing at a far quicker pace and may soon surpass them. In comments made earlier Wednesday, Satya Nadella, the company’s CEO, revealed that AI is now on track to generate $13 billion in annual revenue this quarter, marking a staggering 175% increase from the previous year.
However, during the same earnings call, LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, offered a more tempered outlook. The professional networking platform projected future revenue growth to remain in the “low- to mid-single digits,” citing ongoing challenges within its Talent Solutions division as a key drag on performance. As AI continues its meteoric rise, it remains to be seen how this shift will impact Microsoft’s broader business strategy in the coming years.
Microsoft Corp. announced the following results for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year: Revenue was $69.6 billion and increased 12%, Operating income was $31.7 billion and increased 17% (up 16% in constant currency), Net income was $24.1 billion and increased 10%, Diluted earnings per share was $3.23 and increased 10%.
“We are innovating across our tech stack and helping customers unlock the full ROI of AI to capture the massive opportunity ahead,” said Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft. “Already, our AI business has surpassed an annual revenue run rate of $13 billion, up 175% year-over-year.”
“This quarter Microsoft Cloud revenue was $40.9 billion, up 21% year-over-year,” said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft. ”We remain committed to balancing operational discipline with continued investments in our cloud and AI infrastructure.”
Nadella also confirmed that LinkedIn passed a record $2 billion in Premium subscriptions revenue in the last 12 months.
Business Highlights
Revenue in Productivity and Business Processes was $29.4 billion and increased 14% (up 13% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:
·Microsoft 365 Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 15% driven by Microsoft 365 Commercial cloud revenue growth of 16% (up 15% in constant currency)
·Microsoft 365 Consumer products and cloud services revenue increased 8% driven by Microsoft 365 Consumer cloud revenue growth of 8%
·LinkedIn revenue increased 9%
·Dynamics products and cloud services revenue increased 15% (up 14% in constant currency) driven by Dynamics 365 revenue growth of 19% (up 18% in constant currency)
Revenue in Intelligent Cloud was $25.5 billion and increased 19%, with the following business highlights:
·Server products and cloud services revenue increased 21% driven by Azure and other cloud services revenue growth of 31%
Revenue in More Personal Computing was $14.7 billion and was relatively unchanged, with the following business highlights:
· Windows OEM and Devices revenue increased 4%
·Xbox content and services revenue increased 2%
·Search and news advertising revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs increased 21% (up 20% in constant currency)
Microsoft returned $9.7 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025.