Microsoft reports 9% boost in profits, revenue, as it expands AI use

Microsoft on Tuesday reported a 9% increase in profit for the January-March quarter, as growth in cloud computing sales helped bolster its plans to expand its use of artificial intelligence.

The company reported quarterly profit of $18.3 billion, or $2.45 per share, beating Wall Street expectations for earnings of $2.24 a share.

The software maker posted revenue of $52.9 billion in the period, its third fiscal quarter, up 7% from the same period a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Microsoft to post revenue of $51.02 billion for the quarter.

The quarter marked an ambitious push by Microsoft to capitalise on its investments in artificial intelligence and partnership with San Francisco-based startup OpenAI with the February release of a new AI chatbot feature on its search engine Bing.