What happened Microsoft has, for the first time, disclosed Azure's quarterly revenue in dollars.
Why it matters The disclosure lets investors compare Azure more directly with Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud, whose parent companies already report cloud revenue in dollars each quarter.
In detail For the July–September quarter, Azure brought in $33.2 billion, up 48% from a year earlier.
Azure is the cloud computing service where businesses rent computing power to run applications and software services and to build and run AI models.
It is now Microsoft's largest and fastest-growing product line by the company's own figures, making up roughly 36% of the company's $92.3 billion in quarterly revenue.
Alphabet, which also reported earnings on Wednesday, said Google Cloud generated $30.7 billion in the same period, putting Azure slightly ahead.
Azure also beat expectations: analysts had projected $32.3 billion, and its 48% growth topped the 44% to 45% that Microsoft CFO Amy Hood forecast on the July earnings call.
Azure now sits in a new segment called Agents and Infra, one of two new business segments Microsoft introduced this quarter, replacing its previous three: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. The segment groups Azure with Microsoft 365's cloud business and brought in $76.8 billion, up 25% from a year earlier. Amazon reports earnings on Thursday, and analysts expect AWS to grow. It remains the largest cloud provider, and no one expects Microsoft to overtake it now, but with all three companies reporting dollar figures, the comparison will be easier to track.
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