Microsoft Q4 profit at $11.2 bn, beats Wall Street estimates amid Covid-19

The company said its commercial cloud business surpassed $50 billion in annual revenue for the first time

Microsoft said the coronavirus pandemic has increased demand for its flagship products, reporting quarterly earnings Wednesday that beat Wall Street expectations.

The software giant said an ongoing trend of working and learning from home has fuelled increased demand for its cloud computing services and workplace productivity products, such as email and video conferencing.

But the pandemic has also slowed sales of those products to smaller businesses, and eaten into the advertising revenue that powers its LinkedIn career networking service.

Microsoft on Wednesday reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $11.2 billion, or $1.46 per share, beating Wall Street expectations of $1.34 a share.

It posted revenue