Microsoft Cloud and Hardware Results Drives Fourth Quarter Performance
Microsoft today announced that revenues for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 were $22.2 billion. Gross margin, operating loss, and loss per share for the quarter were $14.7 billion, $(2.1) billion, and $(0.40) per share, respectively.
These results include the impact of a $7.5 billion non-cash impairment charge related to assets associated with the acquisition of the Nokia Devices and Services (NDS) business, in addition to a restructuring charge of $780 million.  There was also a charge of $160 million related to the previously announced integration and restructuring plan.  Combined, these items totaled $8.4 billion or a $1.02 per share negative impact. Excluding this impact, operating income and EPS would have been $6.4 billion and $0.62, respectively.
During the quarter, Microsoft returned $6.7 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends.
The following table reconciles these financial results reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAPâ€Â) to Non-GAAP financial results. Microsoft has provided this Non-GAAP financial information to aid investors in better understanding the company’s performance. All growth comparisons relate to the corresponding period in the last fiscal year.
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| Three Months Ended June 30, | ||||||
|  ($ in millions, except per share amounts) | Revenue | Gross Margin | Operating Income (Loss) | Earnings (Loss) per Share | ||
| 2014 As Reported (GAAP) | $23,382 | $15,749 | $6,482 | $0.55 | ||
|  Impairment, Integration, and Restructuring Charges | – | – | 127 | 0.01 | ||
| 2014 As Adjusted (Non-GAAP) | $23,382 | $15,749 | $6,609 | $0.56 | ||
| 2015 As Reported (GAAP) | $22,180 | $14,712 | $(2,053) | $(0.40) | ||
|  Impairment, Integration, and Restructuring Charges | – | – | 8,438 | 1.02 | ||
| 2015 As Adjusted (Non-GAAP) | $22,180 | $14,712 | $6,385 | $0.62 | ||
| Percentage Change Y/Y (GAAP) | (5)% | (7)% | (132)% | (173)% | ||
| Percentage Change Y/Y (Non-GAAP) | (5)% | (7)% | (3)% | 11% | ||
|  |  |  |  | |||
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The strengthening of the U.S. dollar compared to foreign currencies had a significant impact on results in the quarter.  Excluding the effect of foreign exchange rate changes on the GAAP amounts, on a constant currency basis, revenue and gross margin would have declined 2% and 3%, and operating income and EPS would have declined 129% and 176%, respectively. Excluding the effect of foreign exchange rate changes on the Non-GAAP amounts, on a constant currency basis, revenue and gross margin would have declined 2% and 3%, respectively, and operating income and EPS would have declined 1% and increased 8%, respectively.
“Our approach to investing in areas where we have differentiation and opportunity is paying off with Surface, Xbox, Bing, Office 365, Azure and Dynamics CRM Online all growing by at least double-digits,†said Satya Nadella, chief executive officer at Microsoft.
“And the upcoming release of Windows 10 will create new opportunities for Microsoft and our ecosystem.â€Â
Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Microsoft said,
“We finished the fiscal year with solid progress against our strategic priorities, through strong execution and financial discipline, which is reflected in our results for the quarter and the year,â€Â
Devices and Consumer revenue declined 13% (down 10% in constant currency) to $8.7 billion, with the following business highlights:
- Windows OEM revenue decreased 22% as revenue was impacted by PC market declines following the XP end-of-support refresh cycle
- Surface revenue grew 117% to $888 million, driven by Surface Pro 3 and launch of the Surface 3
- Total Xbox revenue grew 27% based on strong growth in consoles, Xbox Live transactions and first party games
- Search advertising revenue grew 21% with Bing U.S. market share at 20.3%, up 110 basis points over the prior year
- Office 365 Consumer subscribers increased to 15.2 million, with nearly 3 million subscribers added in the quarter
Commercial revenue increased slightly (up 4% in constant currency) to $13.5 billion, with the following business highlights:
- Commercial cloud revenue grew 88% (up 96% in constant currency) driven by Office 365, Azure and Dynamics CRM Online and is now on an annualized revenue run rate of over $8 billion
- Server products and services revenue grew 4% (up 9% in constant currency), with stable annuity performance offsetting declines in transactional revenue
- Dynamics revenue grew 6% (up 15% in constant currency), with the Dynamics CRM Online install base growing almost 2.5x
- Office Commercial products and services revenue declined 4% (up 1% in constant currency), with continued transition to Office 365 and lower transactional revenue due to declining business PCs following the XP end-of-support refresh cycle
- Windows volume licensing revenue declined 8% (down 4% in constant currency), driven primarily by transactional revenue declining following the XP end-of-support refresh cycle with annuity growth on a constant currency basis
“In our commercial business we continue to transform the product mix to annuity cloud solutions and now have 75,000 partners transacting in our cloud,†said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft.
“We are also expanding the opportunity for more partners to sell Surface, and in the coming months will go from over 150 to more than 4,500 resellers globally.â€Â
For Microsoft’s fiscal year 2015, the company’s revenue, gross margin, operating income, and diluted EPS were $93.6 billion, $60.5 billion, $18.2 billion, and $1.48 per share, respectively. Excluding the impact of impairment, integration and restructuring charges, full year operating income and EPS would have been $28.2 billion and $2.63, respectively.
The following table reconciles these financial results reported in accordance with GAAP to Non-GAAP financial results. This Non-GAAP financial information has been provided to aid investors in better understanding the company’s performance.
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| Twelve Months Ended June 30, | ||||||
| ($ in millions, except per share amounts) | Revenue | Gross Margin | Operating Income | Earnings per Share | ||
| 2014 As Reported (GAAP) | $86,833 | $59,755 | $27,759 | $2.63 | ||
|  Impairment, Integration, and Restructuring Charges | – | – | 127 | 0.01 | ||
| 2014 As Adjusted (Non-GAAP) | $86,833 | $59,755 | $27,886 | $2.64 | ||
| 2015 As Reported (GAAP) | $93,580 | $60,542 | $18,161 | $1.48 | ||
|  Impairment, Integration, and Restructuring Charges | – | – | 10,011 | 1.15 | ||
| 2015 As Adjusted (Non-GAAP) | $93,580 | $60,542 | $28,172 | $2.63 | ||
| Percentage Change Y/Y (GAAP) | 8% | 1% | (35)% | (44)% | ||
| Percentage Change Y/Y (Non-GAAP) | 8% | 1% | 1% | (0)% | ||
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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 July 21, 2016.
Adjusted Financial Results and Non-GAAP Measures
During the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2015, GAAP revenue, gross margin, operating loss, and loss per share included impairment, integration, and restructuring charges. For the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014, the financial results included the charges related to the integration expenses associated with the acquisition of NDS . These items are defined below. In addition to these financial results reported in accordance with GAAP, Microsoft has provided certain Non-GAAP financial information to aid investors in better understanding the company’s performance. Presenting these measures without the impact of these items gives additional insight into operational performance and helps clarify trends affecting the company’s business. For comparability of reporting, management considers this information in conjunction with GAAP amounts in evaluating business performance. These Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, the measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.
Non-GAAP Definitions
During the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2015, impairment, integration, and restructuring charges were $8.4 billion. Microsoft recorded $7.5 billion of goodwill and asset impairment charges related to Phone Hardware, and $780 million of restructuring expenses, primarily costs associated with the restructuring announced on July 8, 2015. There was also a charge of $160 million related to the previously announced integration and restructuring plan.
For fiscal year 2015, impairment, integration, and restructuring charges were $10.0 billion, compared with $127 million in the prior year. This includes $7.5 billion of goodwill and asset impairment charges related to Phone Hardware, and $780 million of restructuring expenses, primarily costs associated with the restructuring announced on July 8, 2015. There was also a charge of approximately $1.7 billion related to the previously announced integration and restructuring plan.
Prior year expenses of $127 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014 were associated with the acquisition and integration of NDS. These expenses consisted of transaction fees and direct acquisition costs, including legal, finance, consulting and other professional fees. These costs also included employee compensation and termination costs associated with certain reorganization activities.
Constant Currency
Microsoft presents constant currency information to provide a framework for assessing how our underlying businesses performed excluding the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuations. To present this information, current and comparative prior period results for entities reporting in currencies other than United States dollars are converted into United States dollars using the average exchange rates from the comparative period rather than the actual exchange rates in effect during the respective periods. The non-GAAP financial measures presented below should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, the measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. All growth comparisons relate to the corresponding period in the last fiscal year.
Financial Performance Constant Currency Reconciliation
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| ÂÂ
Three Months Ended June 30,  |
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| ($ in millions, except per share amounts) | 2014 As Reported (GAAP) | 2014 As Adjusted (Non-​GAAP) | 2015 As Reported (GAAP) | 2015 As Adjusted (Non-​GAAP) | Constant Currency Impact | %Y/Y (GAAP) | % Y/Y (Non-​GAAP) | % Y/Y Constant Currency (GAAP) | % Y/Y Constant Currency (Non-​GAAP) | ||
| Revenue | $23,382 | $23,382 | $22,180 | $22,180 | $(753) | (5)% | (5)% | (2)% | (2)% | ||
| Gross Margin | $15,749 | $15,749 | $14,712 | $14,712 | $(557) | (7)% | (7)% | (3)% | (3)% | ||
| Research and Development, Sales and Marketing and General and Administrative Expenses | $9,140 | $9,140 | $8,327 | $8,327 | $(402) | (9)% | (9)% | (4)% | (4)% | ||
| Operating Income (Loss) | $6,482 | $6,609 | $(2,053) | $6,385 | $(155) | (132)% | (3)% | (129)% | (1)% | ||
| Earnings (Loss) per Share | $0.55 | $0.56 | $(0.40) | $0.62 | $0.02 | (173)% | 11% | (176)% | 8% | ||
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Segment Revenue Constant Currency Reconciliation
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|  | Three Months Ended June 30, | |||||||
| ($ in millions) |  | 2014 As Reported (GAAP) | 2015 As Reported (GAAP) | Constant Currency Impact | %Y/Y (GAAP) | % Y/Y Constant Currency (GAAP) | ||
| Licensing |  | $4,903 | $3,233 | $(43) | (34)% | (33)% | ||
| Computing and Gaming Hardware |  | 1,342 | 1,933 | (82) | 44% | 50% | ||
| Phone Hardware |  | 1,982 | 1,234 | (76) | (38)% | (34)% | ||
| Other |  | 1,762 | 2,300 | (71) | 31% | 35% | ||
|   Total Devices and Consumer |  | $9,989 | $8,700 | $(272) | (13)% | (10)% | ||
| Licensing |  | 11,233 | 10,451 | (364) | (7)% | (4)% | ||
| Other |  | 2,262 | 3,076 | (117) | 36% | 41% | ||
|   Total Commercial |  | $13,495 | $13,527 | $(481) | 0% | 4% | ||
| Corporate and Other |  | (102) | (47) | 0 | 54% | 54% | ||
|  Total Revenue |  | $23,382 | $22,180 | $(753) | (5)% | (2)% | ||
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