Updated at 4:53 pm EST
Microsoft Corp () - recorded modestly better than expected earnings in the third quarter, but noted consistent revenue growth in its major cloud division, sending shares lower in after-hours trading.
Microsoft said revenue for Azure, its flagship cloud division, increased by 46% from last year, putting overall group revenues back to a new high of $49.4 billion for the three months ending in December, according to analysts. It was notable that Azure revenues only climbed at the same rate in the previous quarter.
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Microsoft's earnings are rising.
Microsoft's bottom line increased 7.5 percent to $16.7 billion, while adjusted earnings increased 4.8 percent from last year to $2.22 per share, just ahead of the Street consensus projection of $2.19 per share.
Productivity and business processes division revenues increased by 17% to $15.8 billion, according to Microsoft, while Intelligent Cloud revenues increased by 26% to $19.1 billion. More Personal Computing revenues increased 11% to $14.5 billion.
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"We are expanding our opportunity and taking advantage as we assist clients differentiate, strengthen resilience, and do more with less," said Satya Nadella, the CEO of South Africa. "We're expanding our ability and taking advantage of this technology stack as we help our customers differentiate, increase resilience, and do more with less."
Following the earnings release, Microsoft's stock was marked 1.2 percent down in extended hours trading, indicating a $267.00 monthly opening price.
We saw our continuous customer commitment to our cloud platform and consistent sales execution, according to CFO Amy Hood.
Microsoft reported that Linkedin revenue rose by 34%, while XBox content and services revenues increased by 4% if not due to slashed users, chip shortages, and supply chain issues, which also put an even greater pressure on Azure and the whole cloud division.
The Federal Trade Commission is apparently looking into the $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard ATVI, a video game company, citing concerns that the deal will stop competition in the $200 billion video game industry.
Microsoft will pay, according to the companies in a statement in February, implying that opponents will be scrambling to secure their place as well as their scale in the 3 billion player-strong market as businesses to establish and monetize their subscriber bases ahead of their move into the metaverse.
