Microsoft, one of the first big technology companies to report earnings, is a bellwether for what analysts expect to be a dismal quarter for most of the industry. Wall Street has been slashing tech earnings estimates for months, and the sector is projected to be the biggest drag on S&P 500 profits in the fourth quarter. Texas Instruments Inc., one of the world’s largest chipmakers, suffered its first sales decline since 2020 in the fourth quarter and gave a tepid forecast Tuesday. IBM reports after the market closes.
Microsoft Corp. shares plunged by the most in three weeks after the company warned of a slowdown in cloud and business software sales.
Shares were down as much as 4.2% at US$231.97, the lowest since Jan. 4. Microsoft said late Tuesday that Azure cloud-computing sales in the current period will slow by 4 or 5 points — down from the mid-30s percentage-wise at the end of the fiscal second quarter. The business had been a bright spot in an otherwise lacklustre earnings report.
