5 Microsoft Analysts On Q2 Earnings Beat, Slowing Azure Cloud Growth: 'Growth Is Likely Bottoming In Q3'

Microsoft Corp MSFT shares tumbled on Wednesday morning after the company disappointed Wall Street with its quarterly guidance.

Microsoft reported fiscal second-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.32, beating consensus analyst estimates of $2.29. Revenue of $52.75 billion missed consensus analyst estimates of $52.94 billion. Revenue was up 2% from a year ago.

Microsoft's 2% revenue growth was its slowest in any quarter since 2016. Revenue from Azure and other cloud services was up 31% from a year ago, down from 35% in the previous quarter and roughly in-line with analyst expectations.

The company also reported a $1.2-billion charge related to its recent decision to lay off 10,000 workers, restructure its hardware portfolio and consolidate leases.

Looking ahead, Microsoft guided for fiscal third-quarter revenue of between $50.5 billion and $51.5 billion, missing analyst projections of $52 billion.

Buying Opportunity? Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss said Microsoft's recent cyclical slowdown in Azure growth creates an attractive long-term entry point for investors.