Microsoft reports strong cloud earnings, with Windows and Xbox up too

Microsoft just posted the fourth and final quarter of its 2025 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $76.4 billion in revenue and a net income of $27.2 billion during Q4. Revenue is up 18 percent, and net income has increased by 24 percent.

Like clockwork, cloud services are the strong point of Microsoft’s revenue this quarter. Azure revenue grew 39 percent year-over-year, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says “Azure surpassed $75 billion in revenue” for the entire financial year, up 34 percent.

The impressive cloud earnings come just weeks after the software maker laid off as many as 9,000 employees earlier this month. Microsoft says it employed 228,000 people on a full-time basis as of June 30th, the same amount as 2024 before the most recent layoffs.

Windows and Surface revenue

The PC market is still feeling the effects of the Trump tariffs and consumer spending, while businesses look to refresh PCs ahead of Windows 10’s end of support in October. As a result, Windows OEM and devices revenue is up 3 percent year over year, driven by growth in Windows OEM revenue.

Gartner said earlier this month that PC shipments were up more than 4 percent in the recent quarter, thanks to a Windows 11 refresh cycle for desktop PCs. Microsoft primarily makes money from Windows through OEM revenue, the price that manufacturers pay to license Windows for laptops and PCs.

While this time last year Microsoft’s Surface revenue had been in decline for two years, Microsoft started combining Windows and devices revenue together during this past financial year, so it’s still not clear how Surface is performing. Microsoft CFO Amy Hood did reveal on the company’s earnings call today that devices revenue is expected to decline next quarter, alongside a Windows OEM revenue decline in the “mid to high single digits.”

Microsoft did launch two new Surface devices in the recent quarter, though: the 12-inch Surface Pro and 13-inch Surface Laptop. Both devices launched midway through the quarter, so the full impact of sales on Windows OEM and devices revenue won’t be felt until next quarter.

Xbox and gaming

Xbox content and services revenue, which includes Xbox Game Pass, is up by 13 percent this quarter. Microsoft still isn’t revealing any new Game Pass subscriber numbers, though, and the last time we got an update was in February 2024, when Microsoft revealed there were 34 million subscribers, including Xbox Game Pass Core (previously Xbox Live Gold) members.

Microsoft has been aggressively pushing ahead with its strategy to bring more previously Xbox-exclusive games to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch over the past year. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is arriving on PS5 next month, alongside the original Gears of War as a remastered version. Microsoft also launched Forza Horizon 5 on PS5 earlier this year, as well as Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, Age of Mythology: Retold, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

While the move to bring more Xbox games to PlayStation might have angered some fans, it has proven to be a successful choice. Preorders for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Forza Horizon 5 topped Sony’s own PlayStation Store earlier this year, and Circana revealed this week that Microsoft had six of the 10 top-selling games on PlayStation in the recent quarter.

“We are now the top publisher on both Xbox and PlayStation this quarter,” said Nadella on an earnings call today. Nadella also revealed “Game Pass annual revenue was nearly $5 billion for the first time,” and confirmed that Microsoft has 500 million monthly active users across gaming platforms and devices.

Xbox hardware is still struggling, though. Xbox hardware revenue is down 22 percent this quarter, despite a busy period for Game Pass. Microsoft increased the prices of its Xbox consoles and controllers worldwide in May, with the Xbox Series X bumped by $100 to $599.99.

Overall gaming revenue at Microsoft is up 10 percent year-over-year, and has increased by $2 billion for the entire fiscal year. Xbox content and services revenue has also increased by 16 percent for the fiscal year, but Xbox hardware revenue has decreased by 25 percent in the fiscal year “driven by lower volume of consoles sold.”

Microsoft’s Xbox everywhere strategy — which I’ve been covering closely in my Notepad newsletter over the past year — will also include titles for the Nintendo Switch 2. It’s possible we might even see one during Nintendo’s Switch 2 partner Direct tomorrow.

Looking ahead, Microsoft is also heading to the Gamescom show next month, where it will let attendees play with its new Xbox Ally handheld devices. A playable demo of the long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong will also be available on the ROG Xbox Ally handhelds, as well “a couple more surprises at the show from our partners too.”

In Q1 fiscal 2026, Hood expects Xbox content and services revenue to decline in the mid single digits, alongside an overall gaming revenue decline in the mid to high single digits.

Office and cloud

Microsoft 365 commercial cloud revenue grew by 18 percent year-over-year, driven by growth in revenue per user and in part to Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses. The January price increase to Microsoft 365 consumer plans has also contributed to 20 percent of growth in Microsoft 365 Consumer cloud revenue. There are now 89 million Microsoft 365 consumer subscribers, up 8 percent year-over-year.

It’s Microsoft’s cloud growth that’s really the story this quarter once again. Azure and other cloud services grew by 39 percent, a big jump that was driven by growth across all workloads, according to Microsoft. Server products revenue declined 2 percent, a sign that Microsoft’s customers are increasingly moving to its cloud offerings.

Nadella noted on Microsoft’s earnings call that every Azure region is now AI-first, and all regions support liquid cooling.

LinkedIn revenue was also up 9 percent this quarter, with sessions also growing by 7 percent. Microsoft says it has also seen “record engagement” with LinkedIn this quarter. Even Microsoft’s search and news advertising revenue is up 21 percent, after it has overhauled Bing with AI-powered results and features.