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Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) stock surged early Wednesday following strong third-quarter earnings. 

Earnings per share climbed 9% to $2.22 defying Wall Street expectations of $2.19. On the other hand, revenue rose 18% to $49.36 billion, blasting above estimates for $49.05 billion. 

The tech giant's Intelligent Cloud sector posted $19 billion in revenue, up 26%. The personal computing division's revenue surged 11% to $14.53 billion. The company acquired Activision Blizzard in January, growing its video game segment to house the publisher of titles like "Call of Duty" and "Candy Crush." 

Microsoft stock jumped 4.5% to $282.33 Wednesday. But shares plummeted 19% so far this year at Tuesday's close. 

CFO Amy Hood also commented on Microsoft's earnings call saying that she expects fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $52.4 billion-$53.2 billion. While the midpoint of the guidance is in line with analysts' views for $52.8 billion, it comes despite worsening gloom about the macro-economic environment as inflation stays high while COVID-19 infections and Russia's war on Ukraine worsen supply-chain woes.

CEO Satya Nadella predicted tech spending would stay strong even amid a slow economy.