Microsoft's earnings were outperformed across the board

Microsoft shares rose to 6% in extended trading on Tuesday after the software company reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that exceeded analysts' expectations and provided an upbeat outlook for the current quarter.

According to a statement, Microsoft's revenue increased by 18 percent year over year in the fiscal quarter that ended on March 31, compared to 20 percent in the previous quarter. Microsoft delivered its most minor revenue beat since 2018, outperforming the consensus by less than 1%. Sales and marketing spending totaled $5.6 billion, a 10% increase over the previous quarter also the fastest rise in more than three years.

On a conference call with analysts, Amy Hood, Microsoft's finance chief, predicted fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $52.4 billion to $53.2 billion. Hood's revenue guidance for some of the company's three business segments exceeded the expectations of StreetAccount analysts polled. However, at $52.8 billion, the middle range for total revenue falls just short of the $52.95 billion consensuses.

The Intelligent Cloud segment of the company generated $19.05 billion in revenue, including Microsoft's Azure public cloud for application hosting, SQL Server, Windows Server, and enterprise services. A 26 percent increase over the $18.90 billion consensuses among StreetAccount analysts polled.

Revenue from Azure and other cloud services increased by 46 percent in the quarter, compared to a 46 percent increase the previous quarter. According to a news poll of 13 analysts, the expectation was 45.3 percent growth, while StreetAccount polled analysts expected 43.6 percent growth.