Microsoft tops quarterly cloud growth estimates, easing spending concerns

July 29 : Microsoft topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly cloud revenue growth on Wednesday, a sign its massive spending on AI infrastructure was paying off as capacity constraints ease and more businesses adopt the technology.Revenue at the company's Azure cloud-computing business rose 43 per cent in its fiscal fourth quarter, compared with analysts' consensus estimate of 39.98 per cent, according to Visible Alpha.Shares of Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft were up about 3 per cent in extended trading. "This year, Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time, and Microsoft 365 Copilot reached over 30 million paid seats, reflecting the confidence customers are placing in us to power their AI transformation," CEO Satya Nadella said. The strong growth could ease some concer