Microsoft Q4 Preview: Azure Feeling Last Week's Heat?

  • At the start of the year, I had picked Microsoft to be the best-positioned hyperscaler, driven by enterprise-focused revenue, Azure's strong growth, and leadership in AI/cloud monetization. My bullish card has played out so far, but Alphabet's recent Q2 earnings just raised the bar higher, with GCP accelerating sequentially from a record of $250M+ deals. Meanwhile, last quarter, Microsoft exceeded expectations, with Azure accelerating to 35% YoY growth and Microsoft Cloud delivering record performance, fueled by AI demand.