Microsoft Corp. MSFT will report its fiscal Q3 2024 earnings Thursday, after market close, marking the most pivotal earnings report for the week.

The world’s largest corporation has a market of nearly $3 trillion and is currently “in a unique position to scale Gen-AI revenue without structural changes to its profitability profile” according to Goldman Sachs analysts Kash Rangan and Henry Dane.

Microsoft Earnings Preview: What Do Analysts Expect?

• Consensus among Wall Street analysts indicates that Microsoft is expected to report earnings per share of $2.83 and revenue of $60.769 billion, according to data derived from Benzinga Pro platform.
• The average revenue is projected to increase by 15.1% year-on-year, with a slight easing of 1.9% compared to the previous quarter.
• Earnings are anticipated to grow at a pace of 15.98% compared to the same quarter of last year, with a decrease of 3% compared to the previous quarter.
• Microsoft has consistently outperformed Wall Street’s earnings expectations in its last six reports and has surpassed revenue forecasts in five of those instances.
• The 12-month average price target is currently set at $478, suggesting an 18% stock upside from current market levels.

Here Is A Breakdown Of Analyst Estimates

Measure	Estimate Low to High Range	Average	YoY Chg %	QoQ Chg %
Sales	$60.27B – $62.06B	$ 60.769B	15.14%	-1.87%
EPS	2.78 – 3.18	2.83	15.98%	-3.02%

Goldman Sachs’ Take

“Microsoft is well poised to execute against its estimates for +15% revenue growth, 28% Azure growth, and earnings per shares of $2.87,” Goldman Sachs wrote.

The tech giant is likely to expand due to the growing demand for new tech projects and its focus on improving productivity, even as budgets in IT may tighten, according to Goldman Sachs.

Microsoft’s Azure platform is expected to benefit from significant AI-driven workloads, efforts to improve efficiency, and the quick redeployment of cost savings.

“We believe Microsoft is one of the most compelling investment opportunities in the technology industry and across sectors,” analyst wrote.

Goldman Sachs holds a “Buy” rating with a 12-month price target of $450.

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