Microsoft expects to keep generating cash during its just-started fiscal 2027 and gave a capital expenditure forecast below Wall Street estimates after an accounting change for data centre leases. The company forecast sales and cloud growth that beat expectations for its current fiscal first quarter, after topping Wall Street estimates for quarterly cloud revenue growth in its fiscal fourth quarter ended June 30. Revenue at Azure rose 43% in the fiscal fourth quarter, compared with analysts' consensus estimate of 39.98%. Microsoft forecast a fiscal 2027 first-quarter sales range with a midpoint of $90.4 billion, above estimates of $89.66 billion, and Azure growth of 45% on a constant currency basis, above analyst estimates of 40.92%. CEO Satya Nadella said Microsoft is now designing its own models alongside its own chips, reaping efficiency gains of up to 40%. Microsoft said it would now spread long-term leases on data centres over 25 years rather than 15, and expects reported capital expenditures of $50 billion for the fiscal first quarter of 2027 and $175 billion for the 2026 calendar year. The first-quarter forecast was below analyst estimates of $56.02 billion. Shares of Microsoft were up more than 8% in extended trading.