Microsoft is gearing up to unveil its fiscal second-quarter earnings after the market closes on Tuesday, and analysts are buzzing with expectations.
According to the latest scoop from the analysts at LSEG, they’re predicting Microsoft to pull in a tidy $2.78 per share, adjusted, with a whopping revenue of $61.12 billion. That’s some serious cash, folks!
Now, analysts are feeling pretty optimistic about Microsoft’s revenue growth, expecting a juicy 16% boost from last year, up from the 13% they saw in the fiscal first quarter. Surprisingly, these analysts are feeling even more bullish than the bigwigs at Microsoft themselves, who projected revenue to hover between $60.4 billion and $61.4 billion back in October. Talk about confidence!
And hey, it looks like the PC market is shaping up nicely, which is music to Microsoft’s ears since they make a pretty penny from licensing Windows to device makers. According to the wizards at Gartner and IDC, things are looking up, and that’s a good sign for Microsoft.
But let’s not forget about the cloud – it’s like Microsoft’s bread and butter these days. Analysts are expecting a healthy 27.7% growth from Azure and other cloud services, although it’s a tad lower than last quarter’s 29%. Still, not too shabby!
Now, onto the juicy gossip: Microsoft recently snagged video game giant Activision Blizzard in what’s being hailed as their largest deal ever. Plus, they’re rolling out custom cloud chips and a fancy $30 monthly Copilot AI add-on to their Microsoft 365 bundles. Talk about making moves!
But alas, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine – Microsoft’s LinkedIn branch had to say goodbye to around 700 employees in October, and they’re trimming about 1,900 more from their gaming unit following the Activision deal. Ouch!
In other news, the folks over at Jefferies are feeling bullish, raising their target on Microsoft shares to $465 from $450. They’re banking on Microsoft riding the AI wave and the macro situation smoothing out. Fingers crossed!
Despite the ups and downs, Microsoft shares have been on a steady climb, up about 9% since the start of 2024, while the S&P 500 index has seen a modest 3% gain. Not too shabby, Microsoft!
The bigwigs at Microsoft will be spilling the beans on their earnings and chatting with analysts on a conference call starting at 5:30 p.m. ET. It’s bound to be an interesting ride!
