Remote work revenue could help Microsoft offset coronavirus impacts, analysts say

When Microsoft Corp reports earnings on Wednesday, analysts expect some areas of its business to take a hit from the novel coronavirus pandemic, with lower-than-expected sales in areas like advertising on its LinkedIn social network.

But analysts also expect a surge in the use of Microsoft’s cloud computing services and collaboration tools such as the Teams app “as more companies are effectively forced into the cloud” by stay-home orders, as Macquarie Capital analysts Sarah Hindlian-Bowler and Calvin Patel wrote in a research note. Analysts expect those upticks to offset some of declines and position Microsoft as well or better than its peers as the full economic impact of the pandemic becomes clearer.