• Impairment charge to hit Microsoft's fiscal second quarter

Microsoft Corp. on late Wednesday warned investors that it will be taking a $800 million charge related to its investment in General Motors Co.'s Cruise robotaxi unit.

Microsoft $(MSFT)$ and others, including Honda Motor Co., gave Cruise a $2 billion boost back in January 2021.

GM $(GM)$ on late Tuesday announced plans to scrap funding for Cruise, a move that earned praise on Wall Street as the unit was sapping precious investment dollars with little to show for itself after a series of mishaps.

The carmaker said it expects to lower its costs by more than $1 billion a year once the restructuring is completed, likely in the first half of 2025. GM also said it would buy Cruises's minority-investor shares.

Microsoft said in a filing Wednesday that it expects to record the impairment charge in the second quarter of fiscal 2025. The charge was not included in the software giant's second-quarter guidance provided in October, the company said.

In terms of per-share earnings, the charge will be a hit of around 9 cents a share to Microsoft's fiscal second-quarter EPS. The FactSet analyst consensus calls for EPS of $3.15 for Microsoft, which is expected to report earnings in late January.