Tech giant Microsoft is all set to record the best fiscal quarter in recent years. The pandemic earlier this year and the upcoming elections have led to complete disarray through the nation, but that didn’t deter it one bit. Across all its platforms, every one of its services has had a good run this year.
It isn’t hard to justify these numbers either. A company as ubiquitous as Microsoft, found in every home around the globe, could afford to rest on its laurels. There would be plenty of reasons to use this year as a break and strategize. But that doesn’t seem like the ethos at Microsoft, where this year, they’ve committed to huge policy changes that paid off. Microsoft is unique among even other tech companies in that it has a fully decentralized cloud system. Due to the pandemic, other companies either laid-off employees or gave them time off when offices closed nationally.
But this corporation went one step beyond and decided to keep work going, while employees stayed safe at home. Easier said than done; the biggest reason Microsoft pulled that off where others couldn’t was their cloud system. Powered by artificial intelligence and by far the most sophisticated cloud network out there, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella credits this above all for the good news. Join us as we look at exactly what changes we saw this quarter.
Revenue shot up by 12% to a staggering $37.2 Billion
Microsoft became the third trillion-dollar company in the world early last year, and it doesn’t seem like it’s losing any steam. In a single quarter, the corporation generated more than $37.2 billion dollars. That is an extremely impressive feat. Even subtracting overheads doesn’t put much of a dent in that figure. Net income was $13.9 billion, which is huge by itself. But added to the fact that this figure was a 25 percent increase above last year’s reported figure, and it is astounding.
So here is the good news for Xbox.
Its multi platform content and services strategy is paying off.
This would be the best Q1 on record for the gaming segment and it is on track for another record year in terms of revenue.
Here is a look at annual revenue for gaming segment pic.twitter.com/T1Gj9XiBIK
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) October 27, 2020
Of course, it wouldn’t be honest to omit that the circumstances brought by COVID-19 are largely causative. With everyone working from home, demographics like teachers and students had to rely more on online services. Microsoft, along with Google and other tech corporations, has made hay while the sun proverbially shone, selling subscriptions hand over fist. Subscriptions that people might not have needed to buy were it not for the pandemic induced quarantine. Still, there’s no discrediting the gains made here.
It’s an important year for Microsoft and Xbox
Since the last generation of consoles’ release in 2013, things haven’t been very bright for the Xbox division. The Xbox One massively undersold, disappointing investors and shareholders alike. Since then, Xbox has seen a change in leadership, and new head Phil Spencer has turned things around. The new Xbox Series X and Series S consoles will see a launch in less than fifteen days, at the time of writing.
It’s a chance to turn things around for the next phase of consoles. Xbox has launched a brand new streaming service, using Microsoft abundant cloud platform, and things look good. In fact, the Xbox division reports a profit of around thirty percent over last year.
Surface made small but significant ripples too
Microsoft’s Surface series of laptops reports a profit of $1.5 billion. While the product line isn’t the most widely used, it is working hard to change that, and we see that reflected in a net profit increase of about thirty-six percent. The latest launched product in the Surface line was the Surface Book 3, which was received lukewarmly, to say the best.
Still, it does take time for a new company to find its feet. It is good to know that the division can rely upon solid profits and backup from its parent company. Microsoft is blowing full steam ahead.