Microsoft forecast on Wednesday a record $30 billion in capital spending for the current fiscal first quarter, after booming sales in its Azure cloud computing business showcased the growing returns on its massive bets on artificial intelligence.

Azure's performance places Microsoft firmly behind Amazon Web Services, which remains the global leader in cloud infrastructure with annual revenue exceeding $111 billion. However, Azure's growth

Microsoft significantly exceeded earnings expectations for the June quarter and disclosed its standalone annual Azure revenue for the first time — providing new clarity into how it stacks up against Amazon and Google in the cloud.