NEW YORK (AP) – Microsoft’s cloud business propelled its fiscal third-quarter earnings above Wall Street’s expectations, but revenue fell short, sending the software maker’s stock lower in after-hours trading.
Microsoft Corp. said Thursday that it earned $4.8 billion, or 61 cents per share, in the January-March period. That’s up 28 percent from $3.76 billion, or 47 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, Microsoft earned $5.71 billion, or 73 cents per share. That’s up 13 percent from $5.04 billion, or 63 cents per share, a year earlier.
The company posted revenue of $22.09 billion, up 8 percent from $20.53 billion.
Adjusted revenue, which is more closely followed by analysts, was $23.56 billion, up 6 percent from last year’s $22.16 billion.