Microsoft (MSFT) Revenue History: Quarterly Data 2020–2025

Microsoft Revenue: 2020–2025

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) reported quarterly revenue of $81.3 billion in 2025 Q4 (October–December 2025, Microsoft FY2026 Q2). Calendar-year 2025 revenue totaled approximately $305.5 billion, up 16.7% from $261.8 billion in 2024. Microsoft’s revenue growth story over this period is anchored by the transformation of Azure cloud into the company’s primary growth engine, supplemented by Copilot-driven expansion across the Microsoft 365 productivity suite.

From a largely on-premises software company generating roughly $150 billion in annual revenue in 2020, Microsoft evolved into a cloud-first platform generating over $300 billion annually by 2025. This transformation required sustained investment in data centre infrastructure, AI research, and enterprise sales capacity — investments that are now manifesting in accelerating revenue per customer metrics.

Microsoft Annual Revenue by Year

Note: Figures represent calendar-year quarters (Q1=Jan–Mar). Microsoft’s fiscal year ends June 30. Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL.

Azure: The Revenue Growth Engine

Microsoft reports revenue across three segments: Productivity and Business Processes (Microsoft 365, LinkedIn, Dynamics), Intelligent Cloud (Azure, SQL Server, GitHub), and More Personal Computing (Windows, Xbox, Surface, Bing). Azure is not separately disclosed as a line item in the financials, but Microsoft reports Azure growth rates by percentage each quarter.

Through 2025, the Intelligent Cloud segment — dominated by Azure — consistently delivered the highest revenue growth rate of the three segments. Azure grew at 30–35% annually in 2023 through 2025, substantially faster than the overall company’s ~15% growth pace. This created a revenue mix shift toward higher-margin cloud services that directly supported operating margin expansion.

The Copilot integration across Microsoft 365 added a meaningful incremental revenue lever beginning in 2024. Enterprise customers paying the Copilot seat premium — initially $30/user/month — provided uplift to Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) within the Productivity segment. See Microsoft Gross Profit History for how this mix shift translated to margin improvement.

Revenue vs. Alphabet and Salesforce

Microsoft’s revenue scale significantly exceeds Alphabet’s even as both companies compete for enterprise cloud spending. In 2025, Microsoft’s cloud-related revenue (Azure + 365) exceeded Google Cloud’s total by a substantial margin. In the enterprise software layer, Salesforce — a frequent competitor for CRM and workflow automation spend — generates roughly $40 billion annually, approximately one-seventh of Microsoft’s total revenue.

This scale advantage matters for AI: Microsoft can amortize its $13+ billion OpenAI investment and multi-billion-dollar data centre build-out across a much larger revenue base than any pure-play AI company. Compare how Palantir’s revenue scales from a much smaller base — but at faster growth rates — to understand the trade-off between scale and growth velocity in enterprise AI.

Seasonal Revenue Patterns

Microsoft’s revenue is mildly seasonal. The December quarter (Q2 in Microsoft’s fiscal calendar, Q4 in calendar-year terms) tends to be the strongest due to enterprise budget flush, Surface holiday sales, and Xbox content releases. The September quarter (Microsoft FY Q1, calendar Q3) is typically the weakest as enterprise purchasing slows in summer months.

This seasonality is visible in the quarterly chart: calendar Q4 values consistently exceed the prior Q3, and the pattern is stable enough to be useful in modeling forward revenue estimates. Revenue seasonality at Microsoft is less pronounced than at consumer-facing companies like Apple because enterprise software renewals are spread across the fiscal year via multi-year subscription agreements.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What was Microsoft’s revenue in 2025? Microsoft generated approximately $305.5 billion in calendar-year 2025 revenue, up ~16.7% from 2024. Azure was the primary driver.

Q: What is Microsoft’s fastest-growing revenue segment? The Intelligent Cloud segment (Azure) has grown at 30–35% annually through 2023–2025, consistently outpacing company-wide growth.

Q: How does Microsoft’s fiscal year affect its revenue reporting? Microsoft’s fiscal year ends June 30, meaning FY Q1 = July–September and FY Q4 = April–June. Calendar-quarter comparisons require noting this offset.

Q: How does Microsoft revenue compare to Apple? Apple generates more total revenue (~$400B+ annually) while Microsoft generates ~$300B. Microsoft’s revenue has higher recurring subscription mix, which commands premium valuation multiples. See the Apple vs. Microsoft comparison.

Related: Microsoft Gross Profit · Microsoft Operating Income · Microsoft EPS · Gross Margin Glossary · Revenue Glossary · Enterprise Software Sector