Azure grew 40% and Microsoft signed a $9.7 billion AI cloud deal with bitcoin miner IREN, highlighting how former crypto mining infrastructure is being redirected to AI workloads.
Microsoft reported fiscal Q3 2026 results ahead of Wall Street expectations, posting $82.9 billion in revenue versus an $81.4 billion consensus and earnings per share of $4.27 compared with $4.06 expected. The company said its AI business reached a $37 billion annual revenue run rate, up 123% year over year, while Azure, its cloud computing platform, expanded 40%. Microsoft Cloud revenue rose to $54.5 billion in the quarter, up 29% from a year earlier, and total company revenue increased 18% year over year. The report also underscored a crossover between AI demand and crypto-linked infrastructure: Microsoft signed a $9.7 billion AI cloud deal with IREN, a bitcoin miner whose data center capacity was originally built for cryptocurrency mining and is now being repurposed for Azure AI workloads. Microsoft’s earnings materials did not cite any specific crypto tokens or blockchain metrics, and the company is not holding Bitcoin on its balance sheet or launching a stablecoin. Looking ahead, fiscal Q4 results are expected on July 29, 2026, with consensus estimates calling for $87.4 billion in revenue and $4.23 in EPS, implying continued growth in the 13-15% range.