Microsoft’s revenue may have fallen 12 percent because it sold fewer smartphones and copies of Windows. But its earnings rose and the company had strong growth in the right place for investors — cloud computing, a business that is intoxicating to Wall Street because it represents the future of technology.

All else was forgiven as the tech giant posted its results on Thursday.

The quarter is the first to reflect financial results from Windows 10, one of the company’s biggest new software products in years. While Windows 10 laid the foundation for what Microsoft hopes will be a revival for sales of PCs and other devices, that has not happened yet, nor was it expected by analysts this soon.

A much bigger test for Microsoft will come during the quarter now underway, its second fiscal quarter, when a flood of new hardware running Windows goes on sale. Next week, Microsoft will begin selling two eagerly anticipated new computing devices of its own, the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4.

“Most of the new designs are just now landing in retail,” Amy Hood, Microsoft’s chief financial officer, said in an interview. She added: “We’re pretty excited headed into the holidays.”