Microsoft expects headcount to decrease in coming quarters

Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $83 billion and net income of $32 billion, while CFO Amy Hood said the company expects headcount to decline year‑over‑year in the next fiscal year as it pursues “tighter, more accountable” teams. Management reiterated an Azure growth outlook of about 39–40%, but Barclays flagged cloud growth as lagging Amazon and Google — a concern for investors given Microsoft’s costly AI infrastructure buildout and the stock’s poor quarterly performance earlier in the year. Recent buyout offers could trim up to ~7% of US staff (~8,750 people). Strategic moves — loosening the OpenAI tie to let its models run on other clouds and a large Copilot rollout with Accenture — create both competitive pressure on Azure and potential enterprise revenue opportunities. Overall, the news signals cost discipline that may support margins but leaves cloud growth and AI monetization as key market risks going forward.