3 Key Predictions For Microsoft’s Q3 Report

Investors are gearing up for a wild day on the market as some of the world’s biggest tech companies, including software giant Microsoft (MSFT – Free Report), are set to release earnings reports on Thursday. Microsoft will announce its third-quarter fiscal 2017 results, and the performance of its individual business segments will reveal a lot about the recent direction of the company.

Over the past several years, global demand for personal computers—and related software—has plummeted. This put Microsoft in a tricky situation; the company known for its innovative Windows operating system now needed to re-brand itself as a tech leader that could adapt to the times.

We saw this on some level when Microsoft released Windows 10. Instead of trying to sell its flagship software, as it has done with basically every other iteration, the company allowed existing users to upgrade for free—opting to monetize the program by selling additional applications and services.

We’ve also witnessed Microsoft’s evolution through the aggressive growth of its Azure division. Azure is Microsoft’s cloud computing service that builds, deploys, and manages applications and web services through the company’s own network of data centers. Azure has been growing at nearly a triple-digit rate over the past year or so.

So what’s in store for Microsoft this quarter? Well, the Zacks Consensus Estimate currently calls for earnings of $0.69 per share—about a 12% improvement from the year-ago quarter. However, we have seen one negative estimate revision for this quarter’s earnings, bringing our consensus estimate down two cents from where it was 60 days ago. Nevertheless, our consensus revenue estimate of $23.55 billion would represent impressive growth of 14.7%.

Of course, earnings and revenue are just two of the many things investors will be looking at when Microsoft reports on Thursday. Check out these three additional things to expect.