Microsoft CEO Confirms Major Windows 11 Update; Q4 FY2026 Revenue $90 Billion, Cloud $214 Billion, PC Down 4%
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella confirmed at the FY2026 fourth-quarter earnings call that the company is increasing investment in Windows to improve quality and foundational experience. Quarterly revenue reached $90 billion, up 18% year-on-year, while full-year cloud revenue exceeded $214 billion. However, personal computing revenue, including Windows, fell 4% quarter-on-quarter, with Windows OEM revenue down 7%. Nadella emphasized optimizing Windows 11 stability and performance, building on prior commitments to enhance low-memory device performance, streamline updates, and refocus on core user experience.
Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella confirmed at the FY2026 fourth-quarter earnings call that the company is increasing investment in Windows to improve its quality and foundational experience. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90 billion, up 18% year-on-year, and full-year cloud revenue exceeded $214 billion. However, the personal computing business segment, which includes Windows, posted a 4% quarterly revenue decline, with Windows OEM revenue falling 7%. Nadella stated that Microsoft will focus on optimizing Windows 11 system stability and performance, following his previous public commitments to improve low-memory device performance, streamline the update process, and return to core user foundational features.
Microsoft is advancing performance fixes and refactoring for Windows 11, including phasing out legacy code and adopting more WinUI framework components. The recently released new File Explorer Properties dialog is one example. At the same time, Microsoft is conducting targeted optimizations for WinUI memory usage and performance in preparation for future core UI upgrades such as the Start menu. Since 2026, Windows 11 has introduced several improvements centered on "foundational experience," including testing the restoration of taskbar top, bottom, left, and right alignment options in the Insider Preview program, reducing overall system base memory usage, fixing memory leaks and boot lag, improving File Explorer deletion and loading speeds, replacing KB units with MB and GB in detail view, and cleaning up useless information and advertisements in search. Copilot features in built-in apps such as Snipping Tool and Notepad have also been rationalized and integrated.
Since Nadella took over as CEO in 2014, Microsoft has established a strategic focus on "mobile-first, cloud-first," driving the company's deep transformation from reliance on the Windows operating system to cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Currently, Azure and Microsoft 365 have become the company's main profit drivers and growth engines, but over 1 billion devices worldwide still run Windows. Microsoft reaffirms its investment in Windows 11 quality and foundational performance, aiming to improve the daily user experience for ordinary users and lay the groundwork for Windows as an edge AI carrier.