New York (CNN Business)Microsoft reported a solid quarter as the pandemic drove demand for its cloud and video game businesses.
The company reported $37.2 billion in revenue for the three months ending in September, well above analysts’ predictions of $35.8 billion.Revenue in the intelligent cloud segment reached $13 billion, up 20% from the year-ago period. Personal computing revenue was up 6% to $11.85 billion, seeing a boost from Xbox and Microsoft Surface devices sales.
“Gaming is one of the largest and fastest-growing forms of entertainment in the world. We expect there to be more than $200 billion of revenue in this industry in 2020,” said Kyle Vikstrom, Microsoft’s director of investor relations. Earnings for the quarter were $1.82 per share, exceeding the $1.55 per share analysts had forecast. Microsoft’s stock was up 1.51% at market close.Read MoreMicrosoft is at the cusp of releasing its next-generation video game console, the Xbox Series X, and the more budget-friendly Xbox Series S next week. How the consoles sell could impact the tech company’s personal computing bottom line next quarter. The two consoles will be competing against Sony’s PlayStation 5 and a disc-less, less expensive version of that device.
“We’re seeing a really great early response to the console that’s going to launch next quarter,” Vikstrom said.During the last quarter, Microsoft also announced it acquired ZeniMax, the parent company of video game publisher Bethesda. The acquisition gives Microsoft ownership over popular video games including the “Fallout” series, “Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” and the “Doom” franchise. Those games could help Microsoft inch its way forward in the console wars.
Source: edition.cnn.com