04:44 PM EDT, 07/29/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Microsoft's ( MSFT ) fiscal fourth-quarter results topped Wall Street's expectations, driven by a revenue surge in cloud computing platform Azure.

For the three months ended June 30, adjusted earnings per share increased to $4.74 from $3.86, higher than the consensus on FactSet for $4.24. Revenue rose 18% to $90.01 billion, exceeding the Street's $87.62 billion view.

The intelligent cloud segment's revenue soared 32% to $39.31 billion, buoyed by 43% growth in Azure and other cloud services, Microsoft ( MSFT ) said. Analysts expected a 40% year-over-year advance in Azure sales.

Sales for the productivity and business processes segment grew 14% to $37.85 billion in the fourth quarter, driven by gains in 365 commercial and consumer cloud businesses as well as LinkedIn.

"This year, Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time, and Microsoft ( MSFT ) 365 Copilot reached over 30 million paid seats, reflecting the confidence customers are placing in us to power their (artificial intelligence) transformation," Chief Executive Satya Nadella said in a statement.

Shares of Microsoft ( MSFT ) were up 3.2% in after-hours trading, but had fallen 19% this year through Wednesday close.

Morgan Stanley sees Azure and Copilot as key catalysts for Microsoft's ( MSFT ) stock. Both platforms are "set to inflect," but the market is yet to fully price in the timing and magnitude of that inflection, the brokerage said in a note last week.

"Channel partners sounded positive on (calendar second-quarter) Azure results and the forward outlook," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote. "Our latest partner conversations continue to point to durable demand across Microsoft's ( MSFT ) commercial portfolio, with Azure, Microsoft ( MSFT ) 365, security and broader AI workloads remaining the primary growth drivers."

Revenue for Microsoft's ( MSFT ) more personal computing unit fell 4% annually in the fourth quarter, driven by declines in Xbox and Windows.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) said in April that it expected capital expenditures of about $190 billion for the 2026 calendar year.

"We believe consensus (fiscal 2027) capex estimates remain conservative relative to Microsoft's ( MSFT ) long-term AI infrastructure buildout and could move higher (mostly in the second half of fiscal 2027)," Morgan Stanley said.

Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) second-quarter capex doubled year over year at $44.92 billion. The technology giant raised its 2026 capex outlook to between $195 billion and $205 billion from its previous range of $180 billion to $190 billion.