News
Microsoft Clocks $83B in Revenue for Q3 Thanks to Cloud, Copilot
- By Sean Parker
- May 01, 2026
Microsoft reported strong third-quarter fiscal 2026 results, once again fueled by demand for cloud and AI services.
Redmond reported revenue increased 18 percent year over year to $82.9 billion for the quarter ending March 31, while operating income totaled $38.4 billion, up 20 percent.
Net income on a GAAP basis climbed 23 percent to $31.8 billion, reflecting strong execution and growing demand for Microsoft's cloud offerings, according to the company.
"Our AI business surpassed an annual revenue run rate of $37 billion, up 123% year-over-year," said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Figure 1. MS Q3 Earnings
The software giant's cloud business continues to climb with revenue surpassing $54.5 billion, up 29 percent. Specifically, Intelligent Cloud grew by 30 percent to $34.7 billion in revenue. This includes Azure "and other cloud services," which had a 40 percent revenue increase.
Furthermore, revenue in Productivity and Business Processes was $35 billion, up 17 percent. Microsoft 365 Commercial cloud revenue increased by 19 percent and Consumer cloud revenue increased by 33 percent.
One of the biggest success stories was the Microsoft 365 Copilot, which has 20 million paid users, said Nadella during the earnings call.
"We delivered results that exceeded expectations across revenue, operating income, and earnings per share, reflecting strong execution and growing demand for the Microsoft Cloud, " said Microsoft CFO Amy Hood.
The software giant said it returned $10.2 billion to shareholders in dividends and share repurchases in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026.