Microsoft Corp on Thursday lowered its forecast for profit and revenue in the fourth quarter, citing a hit from a stronger dollar.

The company expects revenue for the quarter to be between $51.94 billion and $52.74 billion, down from its prior range of $52.40 billion to $53.20 billion.

It cut the profit view to between $2.24 and $2.32 per share, from a prior expectation of $2.28 to $2.35 per share.

Analysts are forecasting a net income of $17.51 billion, or $2.33 per share, on revenue of $52.87 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

Microsoft had in April forecast double-digit revenue growth for the next fiscal year, driven by demand for cloud computing services.

But a soaring U.S. dollar has pressured the profits of U.S. multinational companies that convert foreign currency into dollars, adding to corporate worries over soaring inflation and pushing some to more actively seek ways to hedge their earnings.

Shares of Microsoft were down 2% in premarket trading, weighing on the tech-heavy Nasdaq index.

  - Reuters