Microsoft said it expected to take an $800mn impairment charge stemming from General Motors’ decision to restructure its driverless car unit, Cruise.
The Redmond, Washington-based tech group in 2021 joined GM, Honda and institutional investors in a combined new equity investment of more than $2bn to help the Detroit-based carmaker accelerate the commercialisation of autonomous driving vehicles.
Almost four years later, GM on Tuesday said it planned to restructure Cruise away from the development of robotaxis.
The impairment charge will be recorded in Microsoft’s fiscal second quarter, and will wipe about 9 cents off its reported earnings per share, the company said in a securities filing after Wall Street’s closing bell on Wednesday. Analysts expect Microsoft to report EPS of $3.15 in the current quarter.
Microsoft shares were down 0.1 per cent in after-hours trading.