Days after massive layoffs, Satya Nadella’s Microsoft hits jackpot, earns 6541882500000 in…, profit beats…

Microsoft has announced layoffs of about 15,000 workers this year even as its profits have soared.

Microsoft announced on Wednesday that annual revenue for its flagship cloud platform, Azure, surged 34% to $75 billion. The Azure business remains at the core of Microsoft’s strategic pivot towards artificial intelligence, playing a key role in driving its AI-focused growth.

Microsoft Q1 Results

The software giant said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit was $34.3 billion, or $3.65 per share, beating analyst expectations for $3.37 per share.

It posted revenue of $76.4 billion in the April-June period, up 18 per cent from last year. Analysts polled by FactSet Research had been looking for revenue of $73.86 billion.

Microsoft’s Massive Layoffs

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told employees last week the layoffs were “weighing heavily” on him but also positioned them as an opportunity to reimagine the company’s mission for an AI era.

Promises of a leaner approach have been welcomed on Wall Street, especially as Microsoft and other tech giants are trying to justify huge amounts of capital spending to pay for the data centres, chips and other components required to power AI technology.

Google said after releasing its earnings last week, it would raise its budget for capital expenditures by an additional $10 billion to $85 billion. Microsoft is expected to outline similar guidance soon.

(With Inputs From Agencies)