Microsoft Posts Another Monster Quarter

Microsoft announced today that it earned a net income of $13.9 billion on revenues of $37.2 billion for the quarter ending September 30, increases of 30 percent and 12 percent, respectively, year-over-year (YOY).

“Demand for our cloud offerings drove a strong start to the fiscal year with our commercial cloud revenue generating $15.2 billion, up 31 percent year-over-year,” Microsoft CFO Amy Hood said in a prepared statement. “We continue to invest against the significant opportunity ahead of us to drive long-term growth.”

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Microsoft’s three top-level business units, Intelligent Cloud, Productivity and Business Processes, and More Personal Computing, delivered $13 billion (up 20 percent), $12.3 billion (up 11 percent), and $11.8 billion (up 6 percent) in revenues, respectively.

Some key data from the quarter:

  • Server products and cloud services revenue increased 22 percent, driven by Azure revenue growth of 48 percent.
  • Server revenue declined 1 percent YOY.
  • The Enterprise Mobility installed base grew 27 percent to 152 million seats.
  • Office Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 9 percent, driven by Office 365 Commercial revenue growth of 21 percent.
  • Office Consumer products and cloud services revenue increased 13 percent, while the Microsoft 365 consumer subscriber base increased to 45.3 million.
  • Windows revenues from PC makers decreased 5 percent.
  • Windows Pro revenues from PC makers grew 31 percent, driven by consumer (not commercial) demand.
  • Windows commercial products and cloud services increased 13 percent.
  • Gaming revenue grew 21 percent overall, but Xbox content and services revenue increased 30 percent.
  • Surface revenues increased 37 percent, with Microsoft citing “product launch timing” compared to the previous year, plus general PC demand.

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Conversation 24 comments

  • VancouverNinja

    Premium Member
    27 October, 2020 - 5:22 pm

    <p>"Surface revenues increased 37 percent and Windows Pro revenues from PC makers grew 31 percent, driven by consumer…". This is surprisingly strong for MS.</p>

    • wright_is

      Premium Member
      28 October, 2020 - 3:23 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#589141">In reply to VancouverNinja:</a></em></blockquote><p>Our Swiss office needed laptops for the first lockdown there, they managed to get 3 Surface Laptops, they were they were the only 3 (they needed 6) laptops they could get without a 3 month or more delivery timescale.</p>

      • chrishilton1

        Premium Member
        28 October, 2020 - 6:14 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#589187">In reply to wright_is:</a></em></blockquote><p>Working closely with Microsoft I managed to secure 170 Surface Pro 7 at the height of lockdown, for staff in a school. All deployed in box from home using AutoPilot.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      28 October, 2020 - 8:46 am

      COVID year.

  • garyprusso

    Premium Member
    27 October, 2020 - 6:07 pm

    <p>They are expecting very strong demand (20% or more) in next generation Xbox consoles.</p>

  • codymesh

    27 October, 2020 - 6:12 pm

    <p>It's the largest recession since the great depression, but that doesn't matter if you're a global megacorporation.</p>

    • lvthunder

      Premium Member
      27 October, 2020 - 7:57 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#589147">In reply to codymesh:</a></em></blockquote><p>This isn't your typical recession though. Some industries are booming or staying the same as before it and other parts have nosedived to the floor.</p>

    • wright_is

      Premium Member
      28 October, 2020 - 3:30 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#589147">In reply to codymesh:</a></em></blockquote><p>It depends, and a lot of people have had to switch from office work to home office. We had to buy dozens of PCs for our office workers, so they could work at home – and it looks like office chairs and height adjustable desks will also have to be supplied to those that don't have them.</p><p>We've already exceeded the 2019 production in most of our plants.</p><p>The problem is, another, large sector is not doing so well – the service industries, especially sport and leisure, cafés and restaurants, theatres and music venues, for example, are very hard hit. Other areas are seeing growth. Many breweries and distillers, here in Germany, took up a sideline in producing disinfectant, for example, because there was reduced demand in pubs and bars.</p>

    • sammyg

      28 October, 2020 - 8:27 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#589147">In reply to codymesh:</a></em></blockquote><p>Over simplification of a complex problem. </p><p><br></p><p>I work in the grocery industry and our sales were up over 1000% YOY on a daily basis for months. That has dropped down now but they are still high. </p><p><br></p><p>in the other hand the restaurant business I our area has suffered badly. </p>

  • brettscoast

    Premium Member
    27 October, 2020 - 7:21 pm

    <p>wow impressive set of numbers there. The significant jump in Windows Pro revenues is interesting particularly as it's consumer demand not commercial.</p>

    • BigM72

      27 October, 2020 - 8:06 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#589154">In reply to brettscoast:</a></em></blockquote><p>A lot of people have been PCs and equipment to support work from home. In some cases it’s businesses buying, in many cases it’s employees buying themselves as consumers. </p>

    • mattbg

      Premium Member
      28 October, 2020 - 8:49 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#589154">In reply to brettscoast:</a></em></blockquote><p>Agree – although I wonder if there's enough data to distinguish between commercial purchases and employers telling their staff in a time of emergency to "buy a laptop that is domain-capable and we'll reimburse you".</p><p><br></p><p>It's hard to explain the need for Windows Pro otherwise, unless people just went for higher-end business laptops because the cheap ones were unavailable.</p>

  • remc86007

    27 October, 2020 - 10:22 pm

    <p>It's incredibly impressive overall. Why did Windows revenue from PC makers decline? Everybody buying business laptops for COVID?</p>

    • sammyg

      27 October, 2020 - 10:34 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#589177">In reply to remc86007:</a></em></blockquote><p>At my company of just north of 5000 employees, we purchased 20 laptops in a hurry that were net new. We have bought more since, but only to replace older laptops under the regular schedule.</p><p><br></p><p>I think this PC buying spike was short lived. We did buy a lot of web cam's, probably a couple hundred at this point for people to use at work or home.</p>

      • wright_is

        Premium Member
        28 October, 2020 - 3:34 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#589179">In reply to sammyg:</a></em></blockquote><p>Yes, we bought over one hundred headsets for our company. We also ordered webcams, but we've only received 20 so far and the quality isn't good. We ordered them in March and they arrived in late August.</p>

    • wright_is

      Premium Member
      28 October, 2020 - 3:33 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#589177">In reply to remc86007:</a></em></blockquote><p>I think it is the decline in the sales of Windows 10, whilst there was a marked increase of sales in Windows 10 Professional. I think it might be poorly worded in the press release?</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      28 October, 2020 - 8:37 am

      I’ll need to see what they said in the post-earnings conference call. Guessing PC sales settled down after spiking earlier from COVID.

  • sammyg

    27 October, 2020 - 10:39 pm

    <p>I want to thank Microsoft for the Xbox, Office 365 and Credge! </p><p><br></p><p>I am a "Mac" user these days 99% of the time managing Azure, Office 365 and a medium size on-prem, mostly Windows server environment. I can do it all from a Mac since so much is web based these days. Occasionally I have to use RDP into a Windows box, and the Microsoft RDP client for Mac and iOS work great.</p><p><br></p><p>Now where is my Xbox Series X???????</p>

  • Pierre Masse

    28 October, 2020 - 1:33 am

    <p>Okay, they're huge. They can do wathever they want and no OEM will be stupid enough to complain. I wish they double the number of Surface products, and among them a real Android Surface phone.</p>

  • infloop

    Premium Member
    28 October, 2020 - 2:32 am

    <p>Minor correction in the second paragraph: there is an extra "said" where you are quoting Microsoft CFO Amy Hood.</p><p><br></p><p>And wow, that's impressive for sure. It's good to see Gaming/Xbox and Surface doing well also.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      28 October, 2020 - 8:36 am

      Thanks!

  • madthinus

    Premium Member
    28 October, 2020 - 5:11 am

    <p>Who needs consumers….</p><p><br></p><p>On a serious note, they are doing well. Really well. </p>

  • ghostrider

    28 October, 2020 - 6:58 am

    <p>Whoever says a pandemic isn't good for business? Just like wars, there are always profiteer's!</p>

    • ym73

      30 October, 2020 - 2:33 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#589217">In reply to ghostrider:</a></em></blockquote><p>I would define profiteers as businesses that increase prices to benefit from an extraordinary situation, like a war or pandemic. I wouldn't categorize companies that are selling their goods and services at usual prices but have higher profits because demand increased as profiteers. In any disaster some businesses flourish and some go insolvent. I'm sure the construction sectors does real well after a major hurricane or earthquake. The business that lost all their inventory from the disaster might go out of business. </p>

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