Microsoft talks up 'significant capital investments' in AI as sector reacts to DeepSeek
Jan 30, 2025 - theregister.com
Microsoft's latest earnings report for Q2 2025 showed a 12% increase in total revenue to $69.6 billion, surpassing expectations. However, CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood highlighted challenges in AI execution and a decline in cloud demand. While Microsoft Cloud revenue rose by 21% to $40.9 billion, Azure's non-AI services underperformed due to "go-to-market execution challenges." AI services revenue grew by 157%, but Microsoft faces capacity constraints. The company's forecast for the next quarter fell short of investor expectations, leading to a slight dip in share prices.
Despite these challenges, Microsoft is heavily investing in AI infrastructure, committing $80 billion this year. Nadella expressed optimism about the future of AI, noting that as costs decrease, usage will increase, benefiting Microsoft as a major player in the industry. The company is focused on balancing AI workloads with other business fundamentals and expects to align AI capacity with demand by the end of FY25.
Key takeaways:
Microsoft's Q2 2025 revenue was $69.6 billion, up 12% year-on-year, with cloud revenue growing 21% despite execution challenges.
AI services revenue grew by 157% year-on-year, but Microsoft faces capacity constraints due to high demand.
Microsoft plans to invest $80 billion in AI infrastructure this year to meet demand and improve efficiency.
CEO Satya Nadella views falling token and inference computing prices as beneficial, increasing AI usage and ubiquity.
