What you need to know
- Microsoft brought in $35 billion in revenue during Q3 2020.
- That's up 15 percent over the same period last year.
- Despite a global pandemic, Microsoft's cloud business continued to shine.
Microsoft reported the results for the third quarter of its 2020 fiscal year today, totaling $35 billion in revenue. That's up 15 percent over the same period in 2019. The rise comes despite difficulties faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here's a look at some of the major highlights for this quarter from the earnings report:
- Revenue was $35.0 billion and increased 15%
- Operating income was $13.0 billion and increased 25%
- Net income was $10.8 billion and increased 22%
- Diluted earnings per share was $1.40 and increased 23%
"We've seen two years' worth of digital transformation in two months. From remote teamwork and learning, to sales and customer service, to critical cloud infrastructure and security – we are working alongside customers every day to help them adapt and stay open for business in a world of remote everything," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a press release. "Our durable business model, diversified portfolio, and differentiated technology stack position us well for what's ahead."
As has become a theme in recent earnings reports, Microsoft's cloud business continued to shine. Its revenue overall in the Productivity and Business Processes segment was up 15 percent to $11.7 billion. Meanwhile, revenues in the Intelligent Cloud segment were up 27 percent to $12.3 billion. The leading indicator there was was that server products and cloud services revenue saw a gain of 27 percent, led by Azure revenue growth of 59 percent.
In the More Personal Computing segment, which encompasses Windows, Xbox, Search, and Surface, revenue reached $11 billion, which represents a three percent increase. Windows OEM revenue stayed flat year over year, while Windows Commercial products saw a rise of 17 percent. Search advertising revenues rose one percent.
Surprisingly, especially considering concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Surface revenues rose one percent year over year. Xbox content and services revenues were also up two percent.
As always, Microsoft will hold its quarterly earnings webcast to dive deeper into the numbers, as well as its guidance for next quarter, at 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT. You can listen in at Microsoft's investor relations site.
