Microsoft cuts revenue, profit outlook, citing 'unfavorable' foreign exchange rate movement
Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv expecting tech giant to post EPS of $2.33, revenue of $52.87B in Q4
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Microsoft stock slipped during Thursday's trading session after the tech giant cut its profit and revenue guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022, citing unfavorable foreign exchange rate movement.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 426.28 | +1.08 | +0.25% |
Microsoft is now forecasting net income in the range $16.85 billion to $17.43 billion, or diluted earnings per share of $2.24 to $2.32, down from previous guidance of $17.10 billion to $17.67 billion, or diluted earnings per share of $2.28 to $2.35.
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Total revenue for the quarter is now expected to fall within the range of $51.94 billion to $52.74 billion, down from $52.40 billion to $53.20 billion.
Productivity and business processes segment revenue has been revised to $16.48 billion to $16.73 billion, down from $16.65 billion to $16.90 billion, while intelligent cloud revenue has been adjusted to $20.92 billion to $21.17 billion, down from $21.10 billion to $21.35 billion.
Microsoft is expecting revenue between $14.54 billion and $14.84 billion for its more personal computing segment, down from $14.65 billion to $14.95 billion.
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The updated forecast comes as a hawkish Federal Reserve and heightened geopolitical tensions have driven a 14% gain in the dollar against a basket of currencies over the last year, forcing companies such as Salesforce, Coca-Cola Co and Procter & Gamble to temper expectations for the rest of the year.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRM | SALESFORCE INC. | 332.93 | -8.74 | -2.56% |
| KO | THE COCA-COLA CO. | 62.76 | -0.27 | -0.42% |
| PG | PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. | 167.43 | +0.86 | +0.52% |
Microsoft chief financial officer Amy Hood previously warned that exchange rates could impact the company's guidance during its third quarter earnings call in April.
"We expect other income and expense to be negative $50 million, reflecting FX remeasurement impact based on market conditions in April," Hood said at the time. "Similar to the rest of our guidance, further equity and FX movements through Q4 are not reflected in this number."
Analysts are forecasting Microsoft earnings of $2.33 per share on revenue of $52.87 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
Reuters contributed to this report.