Microsoft charges ahead with spending to serve AI demand

A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

(Reuters) - Microsoft on Tuesday laid out an aggressive spending plan to meet demand for its new artificial intelligence services after surpassing Wall Street estimates for fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and profit.

Costs rose sharply as Microsoft built new data centers to support AI, and Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said on a conference call with analysts the company's capital expenditures would continue rising each quarter throughout fiscal 2024.