The pandemic is giving technology companies unprecedented highs. In the course of the massive conversion to digital work and digital communication, sales of corresponding products have increased significantly. Microsoft has now also noticed this: in the last quarter of 2020, the group exceeded expectations by 33 percent and posted record results.
Record revenue and record value on the stock market
Revenue in the final quarter of last year was $43.1 billion. Microsoft thus cracked the $40 billion mark for the first time. Net income was more than $15 billion, also significantly exceeding expectations. Meanwhile, the positive news has also made itself felt on the stock market: the Microsoft Group’s stock is currently trading at an all-time high.
Multiple growth factors
The significant gains were triggered by the pandemic-related significant increase in demand for digital products. Microsoft benefited from both increased demand for computers and the massive growth in popularity of cloud computing and cloud software solutions. In these areas, Microsoft offers Teams and Azure solutions.
Increases are also expected in 2021
The boom in demand is expected to continue for some time. Accordingly, revenues and profits are expected to remain exceptionally high. In the first quarter of 2021, sales are expected to be between $40.4 billion and $41.3 billion. Although this would be below the record amount achieved in the previous quarter, it would be a considerable fifteen to eighteen percent higher than in the first quarter of 2020. Profit expectations for the current quarter have not been published.
