Microsoft Barely Misses Out in Q2

January 30, 2019 by Chris Lange

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) reported fiscal first-quarter results after markets closed Wednesday. The software behemoth reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.10 on revenues of $32.5 billion. In the same period last year, the company reported EPS of $0.96 on revenues of $28.92 billion. The consensus estimates called for EPS of $1.09 on revenues of $32.5 billion.

Microsoft returned $9.6 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases in the quarter.

In terms of its segments, Microsoft reported:

  • Productivity and Business Processes revenues increased 13% to $10.1 billion (up 13% in constant currency).
  • Intelligent Cloud revenues increased 20% to $9.4 billion (up 21% in constant currency).
  • More Personal Computing revenues increased 7% to $13.0 billion (up 7% in constant currency).

The company did not issue any guidance in the report, instead it will issue it on the conference call. Consensus estimates are calling for $1.02 in EPS and $29.88 billion in revenue for the fiscal third quarter.

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, commented:

Our strong commercial cloud results reflect our deep and growing partnerships with leading companies in every industry including retail, financial services, and healthcare. We are delivering differentiated value across the cloud and edge as we work to earn customer trust every day.

Shares of Microsoft closed Wednesday at $106.38, with a consensus analyst price target of $125.70 and a 52-week range of $83.83 to $116.18. Following the announcement, the stock was down 2.7% at $104.93 in the after-hours session.

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