Deferred Revenue
Microsoft Deferred Revenue decreased by 12.9% to $51.38B in Q4 2025 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 12.9%, from $45.51B to $51.38B. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Deferred Revenue shows an upward trend with a 11.7% CAGR. This decline may warrant attention — for this metric, higher values are generally preferred.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase suggests strong sales of subscription-based services or bundled offerings, providing a predictable pipeline for future revenue recognition.
Detailed definition
Represents cash payments received from customers in advance of the company fulfilling its performance obligations, speci...
Peer comparison
High-growth software and services companies typically maintain larger deferred revenue balances relative to pure hardware manufacturers.
deferred_revenue_currentHistorical Data
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $41.53B | $38.47B | $34.00B | $34.03B | $45.54B | $41.34B | $36.98B | $36.90B | $50.90B | $46.43B | $43.07B | $41.89B | $57.58B | $53.03B | $45.51B | $44.64B | $64.56B | $58.99B | $51.38B |
| QoQ Change | — | -7.4% | -11.6% | +0.1% | +33.8% | -9.2% | -10.5% | -0.2% | +37.9% | -8.8% | -7.2% | -2.7% | +37.5% | -7.9% | -14.2% | -1.9% | +44.6% | -8.6% | -12.9% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | +9.7% | +7.5% | +8.8% | +8.5% | +11.8% | +12.3% | +16.5% | +13.5% | +13.1% | +14.2% | +5.7% | +6.6% | +12.1% | +11.2% | +12.9% |
Deferred Revenue at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Microsoft's deferred revenue?
- Microsoft (MSFT) reported deferred revenue of $51.38B in Q4 2025.
- How has Microsoft's deferred revenue changed year-over-year?
- Microsoft's deferred revenue increased by 12.9% year-over-year, from $45.51B to $51.38B.
- What is the long-term trend for Microsoft's deferred revenue?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Microsoft's deferred revenue has grown at a 11.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $41.53B to $64.56B.
- What does deferred revenue mean?
- Money collected from customers for products or services that haven't been delivered yet but will be within a year.