Investing.com - As Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares near the $100 level, it's hard to believe Satya Nadella has been CEO for little more than four years.
During that time, he has awakened a sleeping giant, remaking the company that Bill Gates took public in 1986, and rewarded once-disgruntled shareholders in the process.
Microsoft stock is up 161% since Nardella was named CEO, replacing Gates protoge Steve Ballmer, in February 2014.
Microsoft's latest blockbuster earnings reflect the company's transformation from a company defined by the Windows group of operating systems to one also powered by cloud computing.
Cloud unit revenue hit $7.90 billion, while the personal computing unit, which includes Windows, was $9.25 billion. In particular, revenue at its Azure public cloud business soared 93% from a year ago.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is so bullish on Microsoft's cloud business that it recently raised its 12-month price target to $130 a share, which would take the company's market cap to $1 trillion.