Bottom line: Growing adoption rates for cloud computing services has resulted in the bottom line for two of the largest technology giants increasing by billions. Microsoft and Google have revealed robust quarterly earnings results, with Azure and Google Cloud leading the way.
In its Q1 2022 financial earnings report, Microsoft reported overall revenue of $45.3 billion, an increase of 22 percent compared to the same quarter in the previous fiscal year. Operating income was $20.2 billion, representing growth of 27 percent.
Microsoft Cloud generated $20.7 billion in revenue for the quarter, a rise of 36 percent year over year. The strong earnings were predominantly driven by the performance of Azure and other cloud services, which grew by 50 percent. Microsoft also revealed that revenue in its Intelligent Cloud division reached $17 billion, a increase of 31 percent.
Meanwhile, Google parent company Alphabet also announced its financial results for the quarter ending September 30, 2021. Google Cloud revenue soared by 45 percent to $4.99 billion, while operating losses decreased to $644 million, a sizable drop from the $1.21 billion in losses that occurred during Q3 2020.
As for total revenue, the search giant reported an increase of 41 percent to $65.12 billion, compared to $46.17 billion in the same period last year. Net income was $18.94 billion in the quarter, a sizable jump from $11.25 billion in 2020.
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Google CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted ongoing improvements to Search as an example of investments it’s made, in addition to pointing out the ongoing digital transformation and shift to hybrid work models. Furthermore, Pichai stressed that Google Cloud delivers “hundreds of new capabilities, services, and solutions”, as well as mentioning the platform’s “leadership in real-time data analytics and AI.”
Google Cloud comprises both Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Workspace, formerly known as G Suite. GCP’s revenue “was again above cloud overall, reflecting significant growth in both infrastructure and platform services,” Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat said.