Microsoft shares fall after cloud segment misses expectations

Microsoft released this Tuesday (30), the result of its balance sheet for the second quarter of 2024. The numbers point to great growth in revenue and profit, but are below expectations with its cloud segment, a fact that caused its shares to fall 7% in the aftermarket (additional time to trade on the stock exchange after the market closes).

Microsoft shares fall

The company closed the second quarter with a net profit of US$22.04 billion and revenue of US$64.7 billion. Both figures show considerable growth compared to the previous year.

Analysts at StreetAccount expected revenue of $28.68 billion from the cloud segment, linked to the company's services and advances in artificial intelligence, but the numbers released were $28.52 billion, 2% lower than expected.

Also on Tuesday (30), Microsoft announced that it will focus investments in the AI ​​segment, hoping to leverage growth for the coming months. The announcement ended up scaring shareholders even more, who fear a delay in the realization of results, leading to another drop in the company's shares in Frankfurt.

Still, Microsoft remains confident. According to Amy Hood, Microsoft's executive vice president and chief financial officer:

“We closed our fiscal year with a strong quarter, highlighted by record bookings and quarterly Microsoft Cloud revenue of $36.8 billion, up 21% year over year”.

Microsoft's cloud segment encompasses Azure, Windows Server, Nuance and GitHub services and, despite shareholder disappointment, was the company's fastest-growing sector, up 29% year-on-year.

_{Microsoft facade (photo: reproduction/HJBC/Shutterstock/Olhar Digital)}

Tension in the Artificial Intelligence market

The market has been disappointed with the growth of technologies involving Artificial Intelligence which, despite continuing to evolve, is not pleasing experts and shareholders.

Google and Tesla shares also fell this month for similar reasons to Microsoft. The companies continue to invest and are confident that good results will be seen soon.

Featured photo: Microsoft facade (reproduction/NurPhoto/Getty Images/Forbes)