Microsoft (MSFT.US) makes major changes to its financial reporting framework! Azure quarterly revenue revealed for the first time, surpassing 29 billion in a single quarter

According to Zhihu Finance APP, Microsoft (MSFT.US) will begin disclosing its Azure cloud business division’s quarterly sales figures. For years prior, Wall Street had long criticized the company for lacking information about its most important growth engine, and now Microsoft has changed its stance.

Jonathan Nielsen, Head of Investor Relations, stated in an interview that, given the scale and volume of Azure, “now seems to be an appropriate time to provide greater transparency.”

In a document submitted on Wednesday, Microsoft provided Azure’s quarterly revenue data for the past two years, showing continued growth, with the most recent quarter reaching $29.4 billion.

Traditionally, Microsoft has only released Azure business (sales data for storage and software services) growth rates, not the actual revenue. This has led to discontent among investors and analysts, who wanted a clearer view of Azure’s performance as it has become a bellwether for Microsoft’s artificial intelligence business.

Microsoft announced this planned accounting change, which is the company’s first major adjustment to its primary reporting segments since 2015.

The previous two reporting segments — Intelligent Cloud (which included Azure and server products) and Productivity and Business Processes (including Microsoft 365 and legacy Office suites) — will be merged into a single segment called “Agents and Infra.”

The “More Personal Computing” division, which included Windows, search advertising, and Xbox, will be renamed “Devices and Consumer.”

The latest disclosure from Microsoft shows steady growth in Azure cloud

Microsoft is also making several other reporting changes, including combining most of LinkedIn’s growth with Bing Search and other businesses that rely on advertising revenue. This new structure will officially come into effect when the first-quarter earnings report for the new fiscal year is announced this fall.

Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, stated in a note regarding the reporting changes that the evolution of artificial intelligence “is changing the way we build our products and operate, also blurring the boundaries among our products and reshaping our business model.”

The company had previously disclosed Azure’s revenue on occasion. Microsoft stated that, in the fiscal year ending in June, the division’s annual sales had exceeded $100 billion, up from $75 billion in the previous fiscal year, accounting for about 30% of the company’s total revenue.

As early as 2015, Steve Ballmer called for Microsoft to provide greater transparency in cloud sales.

The former Microsoft CEO and major shareholder said in an interview at the time: “This is a key metric. If they think it’s crucial to the company, they should disclose it.”