Microsoft shares rise after Azure sales disclosure; AI cloud growth in focus
Microsoft on Wednesday disclosed quarterly and annual sales for its Azure cloud computing business for the first time, giving investors a clearer comparison with rivals Amazon.com and Alphabet’s Google as the companies compete to meet surging demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Azure generated $29.4 billion in sales in Microsoft’s latest quarter and $101.9 billion in the fiscal year ended June 30, the company said. That puts Microsoft behind Amazon Web Services, which reported quarterly cloud sales of $42.2 billion, but ahead of Google Cloud, which posted $24.8 billion in quarterly revenue.
