SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. technology giant Microsoft reported Wednesday that its revenue rose 19 percent year on year to 92.28 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, driven by strong growth in its cloud computing business.
According to the company's earnings report, net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30 increased 32 percent to 36.63 billion dollars from 27.75 billion dollars a year earlier.
Operating income climbed 21 percent to 45.92 billion dollars from 37.96 billion dollars in the same period last year, while diluted earnings per share rose to 4.92 dollars from 3.72 dollars.
The company said its reported net income was affected by gains and losses associated with its investments in artificial intelligence company OpenAI. The investments generated a net gain of 207 million dollars in the quarter, compared with a net loss of 3.09 billion dollars a year earlier.
Excluding the impact of those investments, Microsoft's adjusted net income increased 18 percent to 36.42 billion dollars year on year. Adjusted diluted earnings per share rose 18 percent to 4.89 dollars.
Cloud computing remained a major growth driver. Microsoft Cloud revenue increased 30 percent year on year to 63.9 billion dollars, while revenue from its Azure cloud platform surged 48 percent to 33.17 billion dollars.
Under the company's revised business reporting structure, revenue from its Agents and Infra segment increased 25 percent to 76.8 billion dollars, while revenue from its Devices and Consumer segment declined 3 percent to 15.48 billion dollars.
Microsoft 365 commercial cloud revenue grew 17 percent on a reported basis, while Microsoft 365 consumer cloud revenue also increased 17 percent. Search and advertising revenue, excluding traffic acquisition costs, rose 12 percent.
Meanwhile, Xbox content and services revenue declined 2 percent, while Windows OEM and devices revenue fell 22 percent.
Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said the company made a strong start to its new fiscal year, with Microsoft Cloud revenue growth accelerating to 30 percent. She said the company's revenue, operating income and earnings per share all exceeded expectations.
The company also reported that its commercial remaining performance obligation increased 73 percent year on year to 677 billion dollars.
Microsoft returned 10.2 billion dollars to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases during the quarter. ■
