This Morningstar Analyst Is Watching Microsoft's Cloud Progress During Earnings

Loading...
Loading...
Microsoft CorporationMSFT
investors will look for progress in its cloud business and how the refresh cycle in personal computers is playing out when the software giant posts quarterly results this Monday. Speaking to Benzinga, Morningstar's Norman Young said that he'll look for increased movement of commercial customers to Microsoft's cloud-based Office 365 product The subscription-based software has "shown great growth in the past couple of quarters," Young said. Second-quarter results may also provide a check-up on the health of Microsoft's data center products, where quarterly revenue growth has recently been in the double digits, Young added. "That's been a bright spot for Microsoft relative to other big companies" like Oracle, SAP and IBM. Results may also offer insight into whether consumers and businesses are done replacing their older personal computers. "Are people going to say 'Windows 10 is coming out in six to nine months, so why don't we wait for that?'" Young asked. Microsoft recently offered a preview of Windows 10, which will work on the desktop operating system, as well as on tablets and mobile phones. Young will also look for progress on Microsoft's
Nokia
business in the form of progress toward its stated goal of breakeven results by 2016. "Anything measurable toward that goal would be great," Young said. On video gaming consoles, Young thinks price cuts for Microsoft's Xbox brand may have boosted holiday salesrelative to Sony's competing PlayStation. Analysts, on average, expect that Microsoft will post earnings of $0.71 cents a share on revenue of $26.33 billion. In the year-earlier period, income was $0.78 cents a share on revenue of $24.52 billion. Brianna Valleskey contributed to this report.
Loading...
Loading...
date
ticker
name
Price Target
Upside/Downside
Recommendation
Firm
Posted In: Analyst ColorPreviewsAnalyst RatingsTrading IdeasMicrosoft cloudMicrosoft earnings
We simplify the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!

Loading...