Microsoft reported a stronger-than-expected final quarter of its fiscal year, with Azure growing faster than analysts anticipated and achieving annual revenue of more than $100 billion for the first time. Azure posted revenue growth of 43 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the same period a year earlier, marking Microsoft’s highest growth rate since early 2022. Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood expects growth to accelerate to about 45 percent in the current quarter, stating, “Demand continues to outpace the capacity we can deliver.” Microsoft Cloud’s total revenue for the quarter was $59.3 billion, a 27 percent increase year-over-year. Microsoft invested $41 billion in data centers and AI infrastructure last quarter, a 70 percent increase compared to a year earlier, though slightly short of analysts’ expectations. Capital expenditures for the full year are now anticipated at about $175 billion, down from a previous projection of approximately $190 billion, due to an accounting change extending depreciation for new data centers and office buildings from 15 to 25 years. Commercial Remaining Performance Obligations rose to $678 billion. Microsoft 365 Copilot now has more than 30 million paying users, up from around 20 million three months ago, and GitHub Copilot surpassed 50 million users. Microsoft closed the quarter with revenue of $90 billion, an 18% increase, and earnings per share of $4.81.