markets

Jon Keegan4/29/26

Microsoft beats on revenue and earnings in Q3, but only meets expectations for cloud growth

Microsoft shares dipped after the company reported strong Q3 earnings postmarket Wednesday, posting sales of $82.9 billion for the quarter, beating FactSet analyst estimates of $81.4 billion. Earnings per share were $4.27, handily beating estimates of $4.05.

In a closely watched number, Microsoft’s Azure cloud business increased 40% year on year, just above the 39.7% estimated. The metric technically beat expectations, but may not be the beat investors were looking for.

Total capital expenditure for the quarter was $31.9 billion, up 49% year on year, above estimates of $27.5 billion and down from Q2’s $37.5 billion.

One thing investors were eager to find out: how is the company doing in its effort to fulfill the billions in backlogged commercial bookings? Last quarter, the company reported a staggering $625 billion in remaining performance obligations, and 45% of that was for just one customer — OpenAI.

For the third quarter, Microsoft reported a backlog of $627 billion, up 99% year on year. The company said the RPO increase was 26% — in line with “historical seasonality” — when excluding OpenAI.

Breaking down the results by the company’s business lines:

☁️ 🤖 Intelligent Cloud (Azure, server products): $34.7 billion in revenue, up 30% year on year.
📝 📊 Productivity and Business Processes (Microsoft 365, LinkedIn, Dynamics): $35 billion in revenue, up 17% year on year.
💻 🎮 More Personal Computing (Windows, Xbox, Bing): $13.2 billion in revenue, down 1% year on year.

Microsoft CFO Amy Hood said in the earnings release:

“We delivered results that exceeded expectations across revenue, operating income, and earnings per share, reflecting strong execution and growing demand for the Microsoft Cloud.”

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General Fusion CEO Greg Twinney spoke with Sherwood News from the Nasdaq during the stock’s first day of trading.

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markets

J. Edward Moreno7/7/26

SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

US job growth falls far short of estimates in June; unemployment rate unexpectedly dips to 4.2%

Job growth was 57,000. Analysts foresaw job growth of 113,000; prediction markets were more optimistic, looking for job growth above 125,000 but below 150,000.

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Meta surges on report it’s starting a cloud business to sell excess AI compute

The story of the hyperscalers in 2026 has largely been “the beatings will continue until the cash flow outlook improves;” this could help change the story for Meta. Or not.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg visits U.S. Capitol for Senate meetings

markets

Paige Oamek6/30/26

Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).
Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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