Microsoft Corp.’s turnaround plan got back on track in the latest quarter, buoyed by rising sales of internet-based software and services.
Profit in the fiscal fourth quarter exceeded analysts’ estimates and adjusted sales rose 9 percent as demand almost doubled for Azure cloud services, which let companies store and run their applications in Microsoft data centers. A tax-rate benefit added 23 cents a share to earnings, Microsoft said.
Shareholders are watching closely to gauge whether Satya Nadella is making progress toward reshaping 42-year-old Microsoft as a cloud-computing powerhouse with new services related to Azure and the Office 365 online productivity apps — a shift that led to a massive sales-force restructuring earlier this month. The stock has surged 33 percent in the past year to a record amid signs that the changes are taking root, and the company rewarded that optimism by posting a significant gain in revenue from commercial cloud products along with wider margins for the business.
