Microsoft said Azure and other cloud services revenue increased 43 percent, a pace that was stronger than many analysts expected and faster than the prior quarter. Microsoft Cloud revenue reached $59.3 billion, up 27 percent year over year, while commercial remaining performance obligation rose 84 percent to $678 billion. Customers are still committing to future cloud and AI workloads even as the cost of running those services remains high. MarketWatch noted that Microsoft shares rose in extended trading after the Azure growth figure came in ahead of expectations. AI cloud growth can be very attractive, but it is also capital intensive.