REDMOND, Wash. (AP) — Microsoft said Wednesday that its revenue for the October-December quarter was $81.3 billion, up 17% from the same time last year as it furthers its goal to expand global adoption of its artificial intelligence tools.
The company reported net profit for the quarter of $30.9 billion, or $4.14 per share, beating Wall Street expectations. Those results excluded the impact from Microsoft's investments in ChatGPT maker OpenAI.
Microsoft was expected to earn $3.91 per share on revenue of $80.31 billion for the October-December quarter, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Research.
Microsoft's profit was higher, at $38.5 billion, or $5.16 per share, when not incorporating its OpenAI investments, reflecting a new accounting practice the company says it will be using going forward.
Those investments reflect OpenAI's restructuring last year. Microsoft had a roughly 27% percent, or $135 billion stake, in OpenAI as the startup, originally a nonprofit, has converted itself into a new for-profit public benefit corporation.
While no longer OpenAI’s exclusive cloud provider, a relationship that helped bankroll the AI company's early growth, Microsoft also will retain commercial rights to OpenAI products through 2032.
Sales from Microsoft’s AI-focused cloud computing business segment was $32.9 billion for the last three months of the year, up 29% from the same time last year and above the $32.4 billion expected by analysts polled by FactSet.
Despite beating expectations, Microsoft stock dropped nearly 5% in after-hours trading after it released its earnings report.
Zacks Investment Research analyst Bryan Hayes said the dip likely reflected “investor scrutiny” over Microsoft's large amounts of spending on the infrastructure of computer chips and data centers needed to power AI.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on an earnings call with investors that the company is still in the “beginning stages” of AI diffusion, a term for spreading the usage of AI to a variety of sectors.
FILE - The logo of Microsoft is seen outside its French headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, outside Paris on May 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
Leaders at the Group of Seven summit wrap up three days of talks in the French Alps on Wednesday with discussions on the contentious future of artificial intelligence and U.S. dominance of the industry.
U.S. President Donald Trump and other national leaders are closing the formal talks of the leading industrial nations in the lakeside resort of Evian-les-Bains with a session on the future of artificial intelligence and another on fostering economic growth.
The heads of several leading AI companies will attend the discussions, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.
Trump plans to stop outside Paris for a glitzy dinner at the Palace of Versailles before he jets back to Washington on Wednesday.
The G7 leaders spent the bulk of the meetings Tuesday discussing the war between Russia and Ukraine and a tentative deal to end the Iran war. Trump did not reveal details of the agreement expected to be signed by the United States and Iran on Friday at a resort on Switzerland’s Lake Lucerne.
The G7 includes France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.S. and the United Kingdom. Guest nations at this summit include Brazil, Egypt, India, Kenya, South Korea, Qatar, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates.
Here is the latest:
Carney says a tentative deal to end the Iran war could be a game changer in the world.
The Canadian prime minister, speaking on the final day of the summit, said the agreement could have positive effects including the ability to provide additional defensive support in Ukraine.
Carney said here has been a change in tone concerning Ukraine, which was discussed in detail at the summit on Tuesday.
Many countries are vested in making the Iran deal work, he said.
Leaders gathered at the G7 summit issued a joint statement overnight Tuesday on the agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran focused on securing safe passage without tolls in the Persian Gulf.
“We reaffirm that the right of transit passage without restrictions or tolls is the bedrock of international trade,” said the statement of leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Iran floated a similar idea in April to fund reconstruction of areas in the country damaged by war.
The closure of the strait has driven up fuel and fertilizer costs and rattled economies worldwide.
The statement also offered support to a French and British-led naval mission to the Persian Gulf to safeguard ships and remove mines from one of the crucial choke-points in the world’s energy supply chain.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney gave U.S. President Donald Trump a present for his 80th birthday, but said it’s “not gold.”
Trump was “very pleased,” Carney said, adding that he “likes it a lot.”
Carney didn’t specify what the gift was and a spokesperson for the prime minister didn’t immediately know.
Trump is known for his love of gold. An Oval Office makeover at the start of his term included large amounts of fresh gold trim.
Trump and Carney have a positive relationship despite Trump’s previous comments about making Canada the 51st state of the United States.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, second from left, and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, second from right, arrive for a group photo at the G7 summit, Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Evian-les-Bains, France. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
European Council President Antonio Costa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and others gather for a group photo at the G7 summit, Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Evian-les-Bains, France. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump helps France's first lady Brigitte Macron up a step as she arrives for a group photo with leaders and their spouses at the G7 summit, Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Evian-les-Bains, France. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to attend a musical interlude before a gala dinner as part of the G7 summit, in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday June 16, 2026. (Ludovic MARIN/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. President Donald Trump walks after posing for a family photo photograph during a gala dinner as part of the G7 summit, in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday June 16, 2026. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)
