By Connor Hart


Microsoft reported strong quarterly growth in its cloud-computing business -- a sign its artificial intelligence investments are paying off -- but guided for lower-than-expected sales in the current quarter. Sales in the tech company's Azure cloud business rose 34% year over year, meeting the high end of buy-side expectations. But for its current fiscal second quarter, the Redmond, Wash., company forecast sales of $68.6 billion, based on the midpoint of its outlook. Wall Street was modeling revenue of $69.9 billion for fiscal 2Q. Shares fall 3.8%, to $416.39, in after-hours trading.

Etsy reported higher-than-expected revenue in the third quarter and said it is buying back up to $1 billion of company shares. The marketplace operator posted a profit of $57.4 million, or 45 cents a share, ahead of the 53 cents a share that Wall Street expected. Revenue rose 4.1% to $662.4 million despite a decline in gross merchandise sales and slightly lower active buyers. Wall Street had forecast quarterly revenue of $652.5 million, according to FactSet. Shares rise 6.9%, to $51.31, in postmarket trading.

Root swung to a profit and reported a steep rise in revenue in the third quarter. The parent company of Root Insurance posted a profit of $22.8 million, or $1.35 a share, in contrast to the 93 cents a share loss that analysts surveyed by FactSet expected. The company more than doubled its quarterly revenue, which came in at $305.7 million. The company additionally refinanced its term loan facility with BlackRock. Shares surge 69%, to $68.25, in after-hours trading.

Nextracker raised its full-year profit outlook as it posted higher-than-expected results in its fiscal second quarter. The solar power company now expects adjusted per-share earnings between $3.10 and $3.30 for its fiscal 2025, ending in March, up from a prior outlook of between $2.89 and $3.09. In the recent quarter, the company posted a profit of $115.4 million on revenue of $635.6 million, ahead of analyst expectations for net income of $89.6 million on revenue of $613.3 billion. Shares rise 16%, to $37.05, in postmarket trading.


Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-30-24 1944ET