- Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force
- Pope kicks off Christmas under shadow of war
- Catholics hold muted Christmas mass in Indonesia's Sharia stronghold
- Japan's top diplomat in China to address 'challenges'
- Thousands attend Christmas charity dinner in Buenos Aires
- Demand for Japanese content booms post 'Shogun'
- As India's Bollywood shifts, stars and snappers click
- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Djokovic eyes more Slam glory as Swiatek returns under doping cloud
- Australia's in-form Head confirmed fit for Boxing Day Test
- Brazilian midfielder Oscar returns to Sao Paulo
- 'Wemby' and 'Ant-Man' to make NBA Christmas debuts
- US agency focused on foreign disinformation shuts down
- On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis launches holy Jubilee year
- 'Like a dream': AFP photographer's return to Syria
- Chiefs seek top seed in holiday test for playoff-bound NFL teams
- Panamanians protest 'public enemy' Trump's canal threat
- Cyclone death toll in Mayotte rises to 39
- Ecuador vice president says Noboa seeking her 'banishment'
- Leicester boss Van Nistelrooy aware of 'bigger picture' as Liverpool await
- Syria authorities say armed groups have agreed to disband
- Maresca expects Man City to be in title hunt as he downplays Chelsea's chancs
- South Africa opt for all-pace attack against Pakistan
- Guardiola adamant Man City slump not all about Haaland
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war
- 11 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Indonesia considers parole for ex-terror chiefs: official
- Postecoglou says Spurs 'need to reinforce' in transfer window
- Le Pen says days of new French govt numbered
- Villa boss Emery set for 'very difficult' clash with Newcastle
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- How Finnish youth learn to spot disinformation
- 12 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Panama leaders past and present reject Trump's threat of Canal takeover
- Hong Kong police issue fresh bounties for activists overseas
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- India consider second spinner for Boxing Day Test
- London wall illuminates Covid's enduring pain at Christmas
- Poyet appointed manager at South Korea's Jeonbuk
- South Korea's opposition vows to impeach acting president
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
- Teen Konstas to open for Australia in Boxing Day India Test
- Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
- US panel could not reach consensus on US-Japan steel deal: Nippon
- The real-life violence that inspired South Korea's 'Squid Game'
- Blogs to Bluesky: social media shifts responses after 2004 tsunami
- Tennis power couple de Minaur and Boulter get engaged
- Supermaxi yachts eye record in gruelling Sydney-Hobart race
- Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts, spewing columns of lava
Microsoft cloud unit miss dulls bright earnings
Microsoft shares slipped Tuesday after the tech giant reported quarterly profit climbed but its crucial cloud computing unit missed expectations.
Microsoft said it made a profit of $22 billion on $64.7 billion in revenue in the recently ended quarter, up from the same period a year earlier.
Cloud unit revenue of $36.8 billion, however, disappointed investors and shares slid more than five percent to $401.06 in after-market trades.
Money brought in from cloud computing has driven blockbuster earnings quarter after quarter, and a hint that stellar growth may be slowing was enough to give investors pause.
Microsoft is among the major contenders in the fierce race to build out artificial intelligence systems, pouring billions of dollars into the technology in the hope it will pay off.
Microsoft is among the best positioned to monetize generative AI, having moved the fastest to implement it across all its products, and pouring $13 billion into OpenAI, the start-up stalwart behind ChatGPT.
Winning the big bet on AI is "crucial" for the group, said Jeremy Goldman of Emarketer, "but the market is willing to give them a level of patience."
The AI frenzy has helped Microsoft's cloud computing business grow in the double digits, which analysts said could be hard to sustain.
"This type of growth cannot hold forever, but the synergies between cloud and AI make it more likely that Microsoft holds onto reliable cloud growth for some time to come," Goldman said.
Revenue from Microsoft's AI-infused "Intelligent Cloud" unit was $28.5 billion, a 19-percent increase from the same quarter a year earlier, according to the earnings figures.
Microsoft's "Azure" drove a strong increase in revenue from server products and cloud services, according to the company.
"We closed out our fiscal year with a solid quarter, highlighted by record bookings and Microsoft Cloud quarterly revenue," Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said in an earnings release.
Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella added that the company is "focused on meeting the mission-critical needs of our customers across our at-scale platforms today, while also ensuring we lead the AI era."
Microsoft reported a net income of $88.1 billion for its fiscal year on revenue of $245.1 billion, up 22 percent and 16 percent respectively.
Money taken in by Microsoft's Xbox video game unit leaped 61 percent, boosted by the acquisition of Activision, according to earnings figures.
Microsoft said costs to attract visitors to its search and news services rose 19 percent, as it enhanced services with AI to better compete with Google.
P.L.Madureira--PC