[Citigroup: Microsoft Azure Growth Exceeds Expectations at 43%, Copilot Seats Surpass 30 Million] Deep Tide TechFlow reports, according to Tide Research, Citigroup's July 30 research report shows that Microsoft's Q4 Azure cloud revenue grew 43% year-over-year, exceeding the market expectation of 40% and accelerating further from last quarter's 39%. Paid Copilot seats reached 30 million, with a net increase of 10 million in a single quarter, doubling from the previous quarter. Intelligent Cloud revenue was $39.3 billion, up 31% year-over-year; Productivity and Business Processes revenue was $37.8 billion, up 14% year-over-year. Adjusted earnings per share for Q4 were $4.81, significantly higher than the market expectation of $4.21. Citigroup believes this earnings report strongly counters bearish views, as Azure's re-acceleration and Copilot's scaling occurred simultaneously, validating the AI monetization logic. Citigroup raised its target price from $570 to $600, maintaining a Buy rating, corresponding to approximately 26x FY2028 earnings per share, implying about 54% upside potential from the current stock price of $390.