Microsoft’s total revenue increased by 2% year over year in that quarter ending Dec. 31, the slowest rate since 2016, according to a statement. Net income fell to $16.43 billion from $18.77 billion in the year-ago quarter. The company took a $1.2 billion charge in the quarter in connection with its decision to cut 10,000 employees, revise its hardware lineup and consolidate leases.

Revenue in Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud segment amounted to $21.51 billion, up 18% and slightly above the $21.44 billion consensus among analysts polled by StreetAccount. The unit includes the Azure public cloud, Windows Server, SQL Server, Nuance and Enterprise Services. Revenue from Azure and other public cloud services, which Microsoft does not report in dollars, grew by 31%, slightly above the estimate of almost 31% that analysts polled by CNBC and StreetAccount had expected. In the previous quarter, the category grew 35%.

Eoin Treacy's view

Cloud computing helped to save Microsoft’s quarter since compute, which includes computer games declined by 19%.

Cloud computing is not about to disappear but the days of every cloud company doing well are over. There is not clear scope for consolidation and middle market players will either be acquired or out competed over the coming couple of years.

Microsoft fired 10,000 people and invested $10 billion in the AI engine ChapGPT over the last couple of weeks. While hardly a one for one comparison it does highlight the risk to wrote tech work from automation. The market for skills in future will all rest in second and third order thinking. One might argue it always has.

Microsoft continues to firm from the region of the 1000-day MA.