Microsoft's Azure revenue rises 48% as it offers buyouts to up to 60,000 employeesMachine translation

Microsoft shares rose about 4% in after-hours trading after Azure revenue grew 48% year on year to $33.2B, beating analysts’ $32.3B forecast. > Data center spending reached $45.2B in the quarter, below Microsoft’s own forecast of more than $50B because of construction delays, and cut free cash flow 27% year on year to $18.6B. > Contracted future revenue reached $677B, up 73% year on year but slightly below the previous quarter’s $678B, and Microsoft gave no update on paid Copilot seats, last reported at 30M in July. > Microsoft is offering buyouts to up to 60,000 employees in the US, Canada, UK and India to control costs as AI infrastructure spending climbs, after headcount already fell 2% year on year.