Consensus revenue estimate would represent 9.8% growth versus the year-ago quarterWhat’s bigger? Windows or the clouds outside?
Whichever way things drift in Q2, analysts see MSFT in a relatively healthy spot. The company—which some say missed out on the first big internet splash 20 years ago—has successfully rebooted itself into one that can offer a lot more than just Windows and competes very strongly with Amazon and others in the cloud sector.
“Earnings strength is very strong,” said Ford Equity Research in a report earlier this month. “MSFT’s earnings...have shown strong acceleration in quarterly growth rates when adjusted for the volatility of earnings. This indicates an improvement in future earnings growth may occur.”... [+] AMZN is suing the Department of Defense over allegations that it allowed President Trump to exert"improper influence" over the contract process. Because this is a legal matter in process, it’s very unlikely MSFT executives would address it in their earnings call.
Instead of just focusing on Azure growth, consider listening for any major new contracts announcements aside from the government one, which is huge in and of itself.