Microsoft Q3 results: Profit rises 9% to $18.3 billion; cloud, AI lift revenue 7% to $53 billion

Tech giant Microsoft recorded a 9% increase in profit to $18.3 billion for the January-March quarter, on the back of a rise in cloud computing sales, bolstering its plans to expand the use of artificial intelligence.

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The quarter also marked an ambitious push by Microsoft to capitalise on its investments in artificial intelligence and partnership with San Francisco-based startup OpenAI with the February release of a new AI chatbot feature on its search engine Bing.

The software maker posted $52.9 billion revenue in its third fiscal quarter, up 7% from $32 billion the same period a year ago, beating Wall Street Estimates of $51.02 billion in revenue for the quarter.

For the quarter under review, profit rose to $18.3 billion from $16.73 billion in Q3 2022.

Both the operating income and diluted earnings per share rose 10% in the quarter to $22.4 billion and $2.45, respectively.

Microsoft’s cloud business posted a robust performance in the quarter, generating revenue of $28.5 billion and registering 22% growth, compared with the year-ago period at $23.4 billion.