Microsoft Q1 Earnings: It's All About the Cloud

Going into Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report this summer, the software company already boasted a trillion dollar-plus market capitalization. Despite its massive size at the time, Microsoft's quarterly results still managed to impress, sending shares even higher after the report was released. Ahead of its fiscal first-quarter update in less than two weeks, expectations for the company remain high. With the stock up 38% year to date, the company has a $1.07 trillion market capitalization and a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.

Key to Microsoft's strong performance recently has been its momentum in the cloud. Its commercial cloud revenue has been soaring, contributing significantly to the company's consolidated top- and bottom-line revenue growth.

Here are two key metrics investors will want to watch when Microsoft reports its fiscal first-quarter results on Oct. 23. 

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Source Fool.com