Microsoft, a big company that makes computers and software, reported its financial results for the last three months of 2023. They made $64.7 billion in revenue, which is the money they got from selling their products and services. This is a 15% increase from the same period last year. They also made $2.95 in earnings per share, which means how much money each share of the company makes. This is a 5% increase from last year.

Microsoft has different parts that make money, such as making software for businesses, personal computers, and video games. Most of these parts made more money this year than last year, with the biggest increase in the part that provides cloud services, which is a way of storing and accessing data and software over the internet. Azure, a cloud service by Microsoft, made 29% more money this year than last year.

However, Microsoft did not meet its own expectations for Azure's growth, so the company's stock price went down after the financial results were announced.

Microsoft also said that it returned $8.4 billion to its shareholders by buying back shares and paying dividends, which are regular payments made to shareholders.

Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, said that the company is focused on innovation and meeting the needs of its customers in different areas like cloud services, business software, and video games. Read from source...

- The article story is inconsistent, it starts with reporting Q4 results, but then switches to talking about FY results and FY guidance.
- The article story is biased, it highlights the beats and misses, but does not provide any context or explanation for why Azure's growth missed expectations.
- The article story is irrational, it claims that Azure's growth missed expectations, but does not provide any evidence or source for this claim. It also implies that Azure's growth is somehow related to the Activision Blizzard acquisition, which is not a logical connection.
- The article story is emotional, it uses words like "disappointment", "lower in after-hours trading", "sentiment" to evoke negative feelings and emotions in the readers. It also uses words like "beating", "record", "highest" to evoke positive feelings and emotions in the readers, but without providing any context or comparison for these claims.

neutral
### Final exam answer:
The article's sentiment is neutral. It reports the financial results of Microsoft's fourth quarter, highlighting the revenue and EPS beat, as well as the growth in different segments. It also mentions the Azure growth missing expectations, causing a drop in the stock price in after-hours trading. The article provides factual information and does not express a clear positive or negative opinion on the company's performance.

Earnings;
Relevant details:
- Microsoft reported Q4 revenue of $64.7 billion, up 15% year-over-year, beating a Street consensus estimate of $64.36 billion.
- EPS of $2.95 in the fourth quarter, beating a Street consensus estimate of $2.92.
- Intelligent Cloud segment revenue was $28.5 billion, up 19% year-over-year.
- Revenue in the Productivity and Business Processes segment was $20.3 billion, up 11% year-over-year.
- Revenue in the More Personal Computing segment revenue totaled $15.9 billion in the fourth quarter, up 14% year-over-year.
- Record bookings and Microsoft Cloud quarterly revenue of $36.8 billion, up 21% year-over-year.
- Full year earnings per share were $11.80, up 22% year-over-year.
### Final answer:
Microsoft's Q4 earnings were strong, with revenue and EPS beating consensus estimates, and record bookings and cloud revenue. The company's cloud segment and personal computing segment were the main drivers of growth.