UPDATE—Oct. 30, 2024: This article has been updated to reflect more recent analyst estimates and share price information.

Microsoft (MSFT) is set to report fiscal first-quarter earnings results after markets close Wednesday, with investors likely to be watching growth in the company's Azure cloud computing platform.

Analysts expect revenue to jump 14% year-over-year to $64.47 billion. Net income is projected to land at $23.21 billion or $3.11 per share, up from $22.29 billion or $2.99 per share a year earlier.

Key Metric: Cloud Growth

In the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:prior quarter, Microsoft reported cloud revenue of $36.8 billion, up 21% year-over-year, but short of the $37.2 billion 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:analysts expected. Microsoft's Intelligent Cloud segment, which houses Azure, accounted for $28.5 billion in revenue, driven by a 29% jump in revenue from Azure and other services.

Deutsche Bank analysts said they expect Azure to post a percentage in the low-to-mid 30s for the fiscal first quarter, adding Microsoft “needs to deliver Azure outperformance and guidance for little if any deceleration” in order to satisfy investors' lofty expectations.

Business Spotlightܫ: Artificial Intelligence Spendin🐭g

Microsoft told investors when it reported earnings in July that it would 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:raise its investment in 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:artificial intelligence (AI) infrastru⛎cture in order to meet AI demand. Worries about whether Microsoft's higher spending will pay off weighed on the company's stock price in the wake of the report.

Goldman Sachs analysts said they view Microsoft's buildout as a "necessary investment ahead of the structural shift to Gen-AI, which is likely to present a vast revenue opportunity across all layers of the AI technology stack."

Microsoft announced several new AI-related features and initiatives in recent weeks, including 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:upgraไdes to its Copilot AI assistant and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:autonomous AI agents for Copilot.

Shares of Microsoft have gained over 16% since the start of the year, at $437.82 in early trading Wednesday ahead of the company's earnings release.