Microsoft Q4 Earnings Preview

On Thursday, Microsoft MSFT will release its latest earnings report. Decipher the announcement with Benzinga's help.

Earnings and Revenue

Analysts expect Microsoft earnings of $1.08 per share. Revenue will likely be around $29.22 billion, according to the consensus estimate.

In the same quarter last year, Microsoft posted EPS of 75 cents on sales of $24.7 billion. If the company were to report inline earnings when it publishes results Thursday, earnings would be up 44.00 percent. Revenue would be up 18.30 percent from the same quarter last year. Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 43.31 percent. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be satisfied going into this earnings release. Analyst estimates are adjusted higher for EPS and revenues over the past 90 days. The most common rating by analysts on Microsoft stock is a Neutral. The strength of this rating has maintained conviction over the past three months.

Conference Call

Microsoft is scheduled to hold a conference call at 5:30 p.m. ET and it can be accessed here: https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/xn234nk8