As of morning trading, shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:$MSFT) saw marginal gains, only days ahead of its first quarter 2018 earnings report.
The company is one of the largest technology companies in the world, meaning all the more pressure and attention on its release next week. Specifically, the company recently overcame an initial drop in global PC sales by adopting a “freemium” model for Windows 10. Additionally, Microsoft turned its attention to Office 365 and Azure in order to increase its future-looking business and renew investor confidence.
With only a few days left until its 1Q18 report, NASDAQ current consensus estimates the company to post earnings of 73 cents per share and revenue of $23.53 billion. If those speculations are met, the company would see a year-over year growth rate of -4.5% and +15.0%, respectively.
Also, Microsoft’s bottom line is expected to slump, with revenue gains increasing. Currently, the stock is up 27% year-to-date, while holding a Zacks Rank #3 (hold).
Microsoft’s productivity and business processes unit has undoubtedly experienced a significant amount of growth recently, with its recent acquisition of LinkedIn. On top of that, Office 365- a spin off of its core suite of software that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and others- has surged recently as well.
With all that being said, Microsoft’s current Productivity & Business Processes estimates is seeing upwards of $8.02 billion.
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