Microsoft Cloud Strength and Hardware Progress Drive Record First-Quarter Revenue

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Strong performance across commercial and consumer segments delivers revenue of $23.20 billion.

Microsoft today announced revenue of $23.20 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2014. Gross margin, operating income and diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) for the quarter were $14.93 billion, $5.84 billion and $0.54 per share, respectively.

These financial results include $1.14 billion of integration and restructuring expenses, or an $0.11 per share negative impact, related to both Microsoft’s restructuring plan announced in July 2014 and the ongoing integration of the Nokia Devices and Services (“NDS”) business.

The following table notes the impact of the integration and restructuring expenses on the company’s financial performance (“Noted Items”). This financial information is provided to aid investors in better understanding the company’s performance. All growth comparisons relate to the corresponding period in the last fiscal year.

Three Months Ended September 30,
($ in millions, except per share amounts and percentages) Revenue Gross Margin Operating Income Diluted EPS
2013 As Reported (GAAP) $18,529 $13,384 $6,334 $0.62
2014 As Reported (GAAP) $23,201 $14,928 $5,844 $0.54
% Y/Y (GAAP) 25% 12% (8)% (13)%
2014 Impact of Noted Items – – $(1,140) $(0.11)

 

“We are innovating faster, engaging more deeply across the industry, and putting our customers at the center of everything we do, all of which positions Microsoft for future growth,”  said Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft. “Our teams are delivering on our core focus of reinventing productivity and creating platforms that empower every individual and organization.”

“We delivered a strong start to the year, with continued cloud momentum and meaningful progress across our device businesses,” said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft. “We will continue to invest in high-growth opportunities and drive efficiencies across the organization to deliver long-term shareholder value.”

Devices and Consumer revenue grew 47% to $10.96 billion, with the following business highlights:

  • Office 365 Home and Personal subscribers totaled more than 7 million, representing more than 25% sequential growth over the previous quarter.
  • Surface Pro 3 momentum drove Surface revenue of $908 million.
  • New Windows consumer licensing programs drove positive unit growth while OEM non-Pro revenue declined 1%.
  • Total Xbox console sales were 2.4 million, growing 102%, and Xbox One launched in 28 new markets.
  • Phone hardware revenue exceeded $2.6 billion with ongoing focus on execution discipline.

Commercial revenue grew 10% to $12.28 billion, with the following business highlights:

  • Server products and services revenue increased 13%, with double-digit growth for SQL Server, System Center and Windows Server.
  • Office Commercial products and services revenue grew 5% as customers transition to Office 365.
  • Commercial cloud revenue grew 128% driven by Office 365, Azure and Dynamics CRM.
  • Lync, SharePoint and Exchange, our productivity server offerings, collectively grew double-digits.
  • Windows volume licensing revenue increased 10%.

“Customers are embracing our latest technologies from Surface Pro 3 and Office 365 to Azure and SQL Server,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer of Microsoft. “Through great execution by our sales teams and our partners, we have been able to deliver our truly differentiated value to the marketplace.”

Business Outlook

Microsoft will provide forward-looking guidance in connection with this quarterly earnings announcement on its earnings conference call and webcast.

Webcast Details

Satya Nadella, chief executive officer, Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Frank Brod, chief accounting officer, John Seethoff, deputy general counsel, and Chris Suh, general manager of Investor Relations, will host a conference call and webcast at 2:30 p.m. PDT (5:30 p.m. EDT) today to discuss details of the company’s performance for the quarter and certain forward-looking information. The session may be accessed at http://www.microsoft.com/investor. The webcast will be available for replay through the close of business on October 23, 2015.

Noted Items Definition

Integration and restructuring expenses include employee severance expenses and costs associated with the consolidation of facilities and manufacturing operations, including asset write-downs and contract termination costs, resulting from Microsoft’s restructuring plan. Integration and restructuring expenses also include systems consolidation and other business integration expenses, as well as transaction fees and direct acquisition costs, associated with the acquisition of NDS.

Integration and restructuring expenses were $1.14 billion during the three months ended September 30, 2014, due mainly to restructuring charges of $1.05 billion, including employee severance expenses and the write-down of certain assets in connection with the restructuring plan.[signoff predefined=”Enjoy this?” icon=”icon-users”][/signoff]