Photo via The Guardian

Microsoft posts $92.3bn quarterly revenue after offering buyouts to 60,000 employees

Read the original at The Guardian ↗
Cite

France-Presse, A. (2026, October 28). Microsoft posts $92.3bn quarterly revenue after offering buyouts to 60,000 employees. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/28/microsoft-earnings

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-10-29 · by Agence France-Presse

Quick Summary

Microsoft reported $92.3 billion in quarterly revenue and over $36.6 billion in profit, surpassing analysts’ expectations of around $90.6 billion in revenue and $35.1 billion in profit. This growth was largely attributed to the Azure cloud computing division’s 48% increase. The report came just days after Microsoft offered voluntary buyouts to approximately 60,000 employees, representing about a quarter of its workforce, as part of cost-cutting measures amid heavy investment in artificial intelligence.
Written by AI on 2026-10-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Microsoft reported $92.3 billion in revenue and over $36.6 billion in profit for the quarter ending September 2026, surpassing analysts' expectations of around $90.6 billion in revenue and $35.1 billion in profit. The company's cloud computing division Azure saw a growth rate of 48%. Despite this success, Microsoft recently offered voluntary buyouts to approximately 60,000 employees, about one-quarter of its workforce, as part of cost-cutting measures while investing heavily in artificial intelligence (AI). This move comes after the company's previous round of buyouts in April when it gave early-retirement options to 7% of its US workforce. Microsoft had a total of 223,000 employees globally at the end of June 2026.

Written for “Microsoft Reports Profit And Revenue” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Microsoft Reports Profit And Revenue
Economy/Business · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 18% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 6 claims Outlet record 66/100
Daily Mail
Hedges 4 of 14 claims Outlet record 69/100
“While both articles discuss Microsoft offering buyouts to over 60,000 employees, Article A focuses on the job cuts and restructuring announcement, while Article B covers the financial performance and stock market reaction to this news.”
The Independent
Hedges 2 of 16 claims Outlet record 59/100
“While both articles discuss Microsoft offering buyouts to 60,000 employees, Article A focuses on the announcement and details of the voluntary exit program, while Article B reports on Microsoft's financial performance and market reaction following the buyout offer.”
The Hindu
Hedges 5 of 20 claims Outlet record 77/100
“While both articles mention Microsoft offering voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees, Article A focuses on the announcement and details of the buyout program, while Article B discusses the financial performance following the announcement.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
11
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
18%
2 of 11 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Economy/Business
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 2944 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Agence France-Presse
282 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Blow for Netanyahu as Israeli election body rejects claims of Arab party fraud The prime minister has alleged fraud by Arab-majority parties, pointing to the arrests of people with envelopes of cash on polling day President Isaac Herzog will at noon officially receive the results of the October 27 election as he decides whether to give Netanyahu or his rival, Gadi Eisenkot, the first chance to form a government, with neither commanding enough votes alone.
🔮 With the diverse opposition bloc winning 48 seats and Netanyahu securing 53, Arab-majority parties’ 19 could be the decider Meeting for the first time since an election a week ago brought an inconclusive result, the five opposition party heads consulted on strategy at a hotel in Herzliya, the tech industry hub north of Tel Aviv where former military chief Eisenkot lives.
🔮 Iran warns new war with US could last longer as Trump threatens ‘the hammer’
🔮 “My work has always been to try and bring in change for what I feel would be for the betterment of society,” said Gaekwad, who works to preserve art accumulated by generations of rulers.
🔮 The tragedy came one month before a 29 November general election in which Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez will seek to overcome unfavourable polls and extend his eight-year premiership.
🔮 The tragedy came one month before a 29 November general election in which Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez will seek to overcome unfavourable polls and extend his eight-year premiership.
🔮 Bulgarian acting president Iliana Iotova wins run-off election, exit polls show Iotova, who favours dialogue with Russia and opposes military aid to Ukraine, is set to become the country’s first elected female president Bulgaria’s acting president Iliana Iotova, who favours dialogue with Moscow and opposes military aid to Ukraine, won a presidential run-off vote on Sunday, exit polls showed.
🔮 Longest truce of Ukraine war, in Kherson region, set to end
🔮 Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday warned the United States and Israel against returning to war, according to a written statement, following threats from the Islamic republic’s foes of a possible resumption of strikes. “If the enemies once again launch military or terrorist attacks, it is the armed forces of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation that will determine the time and conditions for ending them,” said a statement attributed to Khamenei posted on his website.
🔮 Emmy-nominated actor Melanie Lynskey announced this week she will star as Erin Patterson in a six-episode series for the subscription video-on-demand streaming service Paramount+.
Also by Agence France-Presse
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 282 articles by Agence France-Presse →

Topics

Azure FactSet Microsoft Nvidia Surface Ultra

Subjects

Microsoft ORG · 6× Apple ORG · 1× FactSet ORG · 1× Nvidia ORG · 1× Satya Nadella PERSON · 1×

Narrative

The launch is part of a broader push by tech companies to release hardware that can handle more AI computing on-device and offline, so users do not have to rely solely on remote cloud datacenters, where running AI is slower and more expensive.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-29
🔮 Earlier this month, Microsoft also announced a new Surface Ultra laptop that runs on Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips and will cost more than $2,500.

Claims (11 extracted, 2 hedged)

Microsoft gained billions of dollars in stock market value Wednesday afternoon after it reported better than expected revenue and profit, just days after it offered voluntary buyouts to some 60,000 employees. asserted
it → gain → employees
The office software giant’s growth was fueled by its Azure cloud computing division, which grew by 48% in the September quarter. asserted
which → fuel → quarter
“We are delivering greater capability, choice, control, and cost-efficiency for customers across our entire stack,” Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said in a statement. asserted
Nadella → deliver → statement
The technology giant recorded $92.3bn in total revenue and more than $36.6bn in profit, the company said in a securities filing Wednesday. asserted
company → record → filing
Analysts had expected around $90.6bn in revenue and $35.1bn in profit, according to FactSet. uncertain
Analysts → expect → FactSet
The quarterly earnings report comes two days after Microsoft offered voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees, roughly a quarter of its workforce, as the tech giant spends heavily on artificial intelligence investments. asserted
giant → come → investments
It’s the second voluntary buyout offer that Microsoft has offered employees this year, after giving seven percent of its US workforce the option to retire early in April. asserted
Microsoft → ’ → April
Microsoft had 223,000 employees globally at the end of June, down from 228,000 at the end of 2025, according to regulatory filings. uncertain
Microsoft → have → filings
Earlier this month, Microsoft also announced a new Surface Ultra laptop that runs on Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips and will cost more than $2,500. asserted
that → announce → 2,500
Apple announced a similar touchscreen Macbook this week. asserted
Apple → announce → Macbook
The launch is part of a broader push by tech companies to release hardware that can handle more AI computing on-device and offline, so users do not have to rely solely on remote cloud datacenters, where running AI is slower and more expensive. asserted
running → release → AI
💬Give feedback · no sign-in needed

No sign-in needed for now. Your note is sent without a name, so it cannot be answered.

🕘History 🎫Support