Microsoft’s Azure growth slips below 50%

Microsoft’s flagship cloud computing business Azure reported sales growth of under 50 per cent for the first time ever, sending the tech giant’s shares down 3 per cent.

Microsoft said revenue in its Intelligent Cloud segment rose 17 per cent to $13.4 billion, with 47 per cent growth in Azure. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $13.09 billion, according to data from Refinitiv.