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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says AI success is "more about getting intense users and intense usage" than seat counts
Key Points
Microsoft reported $82.89 billion in revenue for its third fiscal quarter, fueled by a 40 percent surge in Azure cloud growth, while the number of paying Microsoft 365 Copilot users climbed past 20 million.
The company plans to invest $190 billion in 2026, signaling a massive commitment to expanding its AI and cloud infrastructure.
To address the risk that AI-driven productivity gains could reduce demand for traditional software licenses, Microsoft is shifting its strategy toward license- and usage-based business models.
Microsoft is posting record profits and strong cloud growth, but just like Google, the company is saying little about how its generative AI business is actually performing.
Microsoft pulled in $82.89 billion in revenue during its third fiscal quarter (ending in March), up 18 percent year over year. Microsoft Cloud hit $54.5 billion, up 29 percent. Azure led the pack with 40 percent growth (39 percent adjusted for currency), and the company expects that pace to hold through next quarter.
Microsoft 365 Copilot now has more than 20 million paying users, up from 15 million in January. Nadella said Copilot has reached the same weekly usage level as Outlook, which he sees as a sign that AI use is becoming "a habit."
Like Google, Microsoft plans to spend $190 billion on capital expenditures in 2026, well above analyst estimates. Even with that buildout, Nadella said capacity will stay tight at least through the end of 2026.
Next quarter's revenue and margin forecast came in below expectations, and the stock dropped more than 5 percent today. Microsoft, like Google, also won't break out its AI numbers: there's no clear picture of how much of Azure's growth actually comes from AI, how profitable Copilot is on its own, or how much direct revenue OpenAI brings in as a customer.