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.

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.