Microsoft sees a 10% uptick in search and news advertising revenue in Q3 FY23

In Q3 2023, Microsoft reported robust financial performance, with a 13% increase in revenue to $56.5 billion. Search and news advertising revenue rose by 10% year on year, excluding traffic acquisition costs. LinkedIn revenue also saw an 8% uptick, contributing to the overall 13% growth in Productivity and Business Processes, amounting to $18.6 billion.

Microsoft's Intelligent Cloud unit generated revenues of $24.3 billion, surpassing estimates of $23.49 billion, driven by a 29% rise in Azure platform revenue. Windows operating system and other products segment sales increased to $13.7 billion, exceeding the expected $12.82 billion, while the business segment saw growth of $18.2 billion.

AI solutions, particularly those developed in collaboration with OpenAI, stimulated sales growth, with Azure gaining market share against competitors. Copilot, a $30/month tool for select Microsoft 365 customers, generated interest by summarizing emails into quick updates.

Microsoft forecasted a 26-27% growth rate for Azure and a revenue range of $25.1-25.4 billion for the cloud segment. The Windows segment was forecasted at $16.5-16.9 billion, including the Activision acquisition, while sales in the business segment, covering LinkedIn and office productivity services, were projected between $18.8-19.1 billion.