Microsoft (MSFT) shares were nearly 3% higher in mid-afternoon trading Wednesday, bucking a broader market downturn, after the company late T♐uesday reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings, fueled by a turnaround in its Azure cloud segment.

The Redmond, Washington-based company reported revenue of $56.5 billion, up 13% over the same period last year. Net income was 27% higher at $22.3 billion, while diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $2.99. Revenue in the More Personal Computing segment was also up 3% to $13.7 billion, reversing drops of 9% for the third quarter and 4% for the fourth.

Shares were higher after Microsoft's Intelligent Cloud unit, home to the Azure cloud-computing platform, came in 19% higher at $24.3 billion. That marked the first acceleration in Azure since the third quarter of 2022, due to a tough macroeconomic environment, but analysts at Bank of America see that improving.

Another strong segment was the company's Productivity and Business Processes segment, which improved 13% over the same period last year to $18.6 billion. Investors are awaiting the full rollout of Microsoft's $30 per month 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:AI-driven Copilot subscription, which should add further streng🦂th to those numbers.

“We are rapidly infusing AI across every layer of the tech stack and for every role and business process to drive productivity gains for our customers,” 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Satya Nadella said.

Management also delivered strong 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:forward guidance, with fiscal second-quarter revenue expected to be in the range of $60.4 billion to $61.4 billion, driven by 26% to 27% growth in Azure.

Microsoft shares were up 2.9% at $340.13 around 2:15 E.T., in stark contrast to a broader mark🍌et decline led by technology stocks. Microsoft moved as high as $346.20 in♕ the opening minutes of trading Wednesday, hitting its highest level since July.