What's going on?

Even amid a global outbreak of Weeknd Dance Challenge videos, Microsoft�s still as productive as ever: the world�s second-biggest public company reported higher-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit late on Wednesday.

What does this mean?

Back in February, Microsoft warned investors its personal computing division � which sells products like Windows, Surface laptops, and Xbox consoles � would miss sales targets after Chinese factories shut down in response to coronavirus. But the pandemic giveth as well as taketh away: Microsoft�s cloud computing business grew revenue by a better-than-expected 27% last quarter, partly down to an increase in demand for its remote-working services. Its productivity segment � which includes Teams, rival to workplace chat app Slack � benefited from a sudden uptick in working from home too: Teams� usage is up 775% in Italy alone.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: Teamwork makes the dream work.

Companies around the world have already started planning for a remote-working future post the pandemic. Half the participants of a new US survey are planning to offer remote working as a permanent option for some jobs, and 40% say they�ll now accelerate automation and new ways of working. That�ll probably boost Microsoft�s cloud computing and productivity segments even more � adding to the recurring revenues that make up roughly 60% of the business � and help carry the tech giant through the upcoming recession.

Zooming out: Halfway to nowhere.

Speaking of recession, data out on Wednesday showed the US economy shrank for the first time in six years by a worse-than-expected annualized rate of 4.8% last quarter. A recession is technically two consecutive quarters of shrinking economic growth, so if forecasts for this quarter�s shrinkage are anything to go by, optimists � yes, optimists � might say we�re halfway there. Pessimists, however, might say the definition is redundant given the size of the drop � and that a recession has already well and truly arrived.