Cloud growth slows; market focuses on revenue from ChatGPT.Microsoft (MSFT.US), which ranks second in market capitalization in the U.S. stock market, will announce the results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2023 on April 25, EST after the U.S. stock market. Analysts generally expect Microsoft's Q3 revenue to be about $51.1 billion (up about 4% year-over-year), and GAAP earnings per share to be about $2.24, compared to $52.75 billion and $2.32 in the previous quarter.
In terms of beating expectations, Microsoft's performance has rarely disappointed investors. In the past 12 quarters, revenue has exceeded analyst consensus estimates 10 times, and earnings per share (EPS) have exceeded analyst consensus estimates 11 times. Therefore, many investors expect that although Microsoft's Q3 performance is slightly weak, the probability of exceeding expectations is very high.
The Azure cloud business remains crucial, but the growth rate will likely slow down again. Analysts predict that Microsoft's intelligent cloud business growth will slow sharply to an increase of 15%-19%.
Investors are focusing on the revenue brought by AI, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella emphasizing the importance of ChatGPT-led AI technologies. The company's investment in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has generated significant interest in the potential growth of Microsoft's Bing search engine. As a result, Microsoft's stock has risen by over 19% for the year, outperforming both the S&P 500 Information Technology index and the S&P 500 index. Investors' attention is primarily focused on Microsoft's Bing search engine and its potential for long-term growth.
The short trend is bearish, but the mid-range trend is still in uptrend.
