Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) fiscal Q2 earnings came in better than expected with beats on the top and bottom-line and a re-acceleration in its cloud unit, Azure. Equally impressive, the company posted double-digit revenue growth across nearly part of its business. It also gave guidance above analysts' expectations as well.
Leading up to earnings, Microsoft's shares had climbed nearly 10% over the past week. Prior to the market open, shares were set to open 4% higher to open at new, all-time highs.
Inside the Numbers
This bullishness makes sense given the strength of Microsoft's results. In its fiscal Q2 earnings per share was $2.04 which handily topped estimates of $1.64. Revenue was $43.08 billion which topped expectations of $40.18 billion. This was 17% higher than 2019's Q4 and an improvement from 12% growth in the last quarter.
In terms of guidance, Microsoft expects between $40.35 billion and $41.25 billion in Q3 revenue. This is significantly higher than consensus expectations of $38.7 billion and the midpoint implies growth of 16.5%.
The standout performers were Microsoft's cloud unit and Personal Computing. Intelligent Cloud accounted for $14.60 billion in revenue. Azure revenue increased by 50% while analysts were looking for 42% growth. Personal Computing, which includes Windows, accounted for $15.1 billion, a 14% increase and above expectations of $13.5 billion. Productivity and Business Processes, which includes Office, generated $13.4 billion in revenue, a 13% increase from last year and above the $12.9 billion estimate.
Stock Price Outlook
Another impressive part of the report was CFO Amy Hood's comments on the conference call that the company expects double-digit revenue growth and margin expansion for the full fiscal year. It also continues to make strides in gaming with 54% revenue growth due to strong Xbox5 sales. The company also now has 18 million subscribers to its Xbox Live gaming subscription.
Overall, there's little not to like about Microsoft's report. Growth accelerated, estimates were topped by a significant margin, and forecasts were also better than expected. This is the type of earnings report that eventually results in the stock continues to trend higher as analysts are forced to hike estimates for future quarters.
Over the past six months, Microsoft's shares have been range-bound, while the rest of the market chugged higher. This could also lead to a bigger move as it might imply that Wall Street was unprepared for a strong beat.