SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Microsoft exceeded market forecasts with a good quarterly performance in cloud computing and software on Tuesday, continuing to benefit from the pandemic’s online moving of work, play, shopping, and learning.
The US internet behemoth, which revealed last week a bombshell agreement to acquire gaming behemoth Activision Blizzard, reported a $18.8 billion profit in the final three months of last year.
In reporting $51.7 billion in sales, CEO Satya Nadella remarked, “Digital technology is the most adaptable resource at the world’s disposal to transcend constraints and rethink ordinary work and living.”
Microsoft is putting money into the expanding video game sector and, by extension, the metaverse, a virtual reality vision for the internet’s future.
On an earnings conference, Nadella cited the tens of millions of users who play games like Forza, Halo, and Minecraft, many of whom invest in “avatar” proxies for online worlds, claiming that the metaverse is a natural extension.
According to officials, Microsoft is also integrating virtual gathering components with non-game goods like as Teams online collaboration tools.
“We feel extremely well positioned to capture what I believe is essentially the next wave of the internet,” Nadella stated on the conference call.
The Redmond, Washington-based computer corporation revealed last week a historic deal to purchase scandal-plagued “Call of Duty” developer Activision for $69 billion.
This would be Microsoft’s biggest acquisition ever, surpassing LinkedIn’s $26.2 billion deal in 2016.
According to the financial report, revenue at the career-focused social network increased by 37% compared to the same period last year.
According to Microsoft, acquiring the struggling but extremely lucrative Activision will make it the third-largest gaming firm by revenue, after only Tencent and Sony.
The planned merger must be approved by regulators at a time when Europe and the United States are attempting to rein in Big Tech.
According to the earnings report, revenue in the Microsoft segment that produces Xbox systems and video game content increased by 10% in the most recent quarter.
