After the closing bell on Thursday, the world’s largest software maker Microsoft (MSFT – Free Report) delighted investors with stellar fiscal first-quarter 2018 results on strong performance in its fast-growing cloud business. Earnings per share came in at 84 cents, easily surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate and the year-ago earnings of 72 cents each. Revenues rose 12% year over year to $24.5 billion topping our estimate of $23.5 billion.
The outperformance was credited to the strength in the cloud business, particularly Azure, sales of which grew 90% from the year-ago period, and a 42% increase in Office 365 subscriptions. This clearly shows that Satya Nadella’s efforts of turning around the business, and focusing on the cloud business, which includes products such as Office 365, Dynamic 365 and the flagship Azure computing platform, are paying off.
Notably, the cloud business unit hit an annualized rate of $20.4 billion in sales, the milestone that Satya Nadella set just two years ago (read: Why Cloud ETFs Could Soar Ahead).
Following robust results, shares of Microsoft rose more than 4% in after-market hours on elevated volumes. Currently, Microsoft carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and belongs to a solid Zacks Industry Rank in the top 31%, suggesting that it has room for upside in the days ahead.
ETFs in Focus
Investors’ seeking to bet on this software leader with lower risk could definitely look into the ETF world. While there are several ETF options available in the market, we have highlighted seven technology ETFs that have the largest exposure to Microsoft and a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy), suggesting smooth trading ahead.
iShares Dow Jones US Technology ETF (IYW – Free Report)
This ETF tracks the Dow Jones US Technology Index, giving investors exposure to 142 technology stocks. Out of these, Microsoft occupies the second position in the basket with 12.4% of assets. The fund has AUM of $3.7 billion while charging 44 bps in fees and expenses. Volume is good as it exchanges nearly 189,000 shares in hand a day. The product has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (read: FAANMG ETFs to Buy Ahead of Q3 Earnings).
Select Sector SPDR Technology ETF (XLK – Free Report)
