Microsoft’s earnings beat expectations, pushing its shares up 8.8% in after-hours trading, and it became the first major tech company to slightly cut its fiscal 2027 capital expenditure.

Microsoft (MSFT.O) reported fiscal 2026 Q4 revenue of $90 billion, a 17.7% year-over-year surge from $76.441 billion in the year-ago period, significantly beating the market consensus of $87.63 billion. Key data highlights: Q4 capital expenditure hit $41 billion; cloud business revenue reached $59.3 billion; Azure and other cloud services (excluding exchange rate impacts) grew 43%, outperforming market expectations; Azure cloud revenue stood at $39.3 billion with a 43% growth rate; free cash flow totaled $19.6 billion, down 23% year-over-year. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated: "Azure business revenue has exceeded $100 billion for the first time, and paid seats for Microsoft 365 Copilot have surpassed 30 million, reflecting customers' confidence in our AI transformation capabilities." Notably, Microsoft is the first major tech firm to slightly reduce its fiscal 2027 capital expenditure, cutting the figure from $190 billion to $175 billion. As of press time, Microsoft's US stock rallied 8.8% in after-hours trading, lifting its market capitalization to $2.90 trillion.