After the closing bell on Thursday, the world's largest software maker Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) delighted investors with stellar fiscal third-quarter 2018 results on strong performance in its fast-growing cloud business and Office 365 productivity suite. It also provided a bullish forecast for the final quarter of the fiscal year.

Earnings per share came in at 95 cents, easily outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a dime and improving 36% from the year-ago earnings. Revenues rose 16% year over year to $26.8 billion, topping the estimate of $25.71 billion.

The outperformance was credited to the strength in the cloud business, particularly Azure, sales of which grew 93% from the year-ago period. Per research firm Canalys, Azure has been growing rapidly in the $15.6 billion cloud computing market and holds the second position with 14% of the market, trailing Amazon.com’s (AMZN - Free Report) Amazon Web Services with 32% market share.

Since Satya Nadella has taken over, the fortunes of the company have strongly turned around to become a true player in cloud computing business, which includes products such as Office 365, Dynamic 365 and the flagship Azure computing platform. This has become a major source of growth. Particularly, sales of Office 365 and Dynamic 365 climbed 42% and 65%, respectively.

Based on cloud business growth, Microsoft seems on track to record its strongest annual revenue growth for more than a decade. It expects revenues in the range of $28.8-$29.5 billion for the final quarter, much above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $27.92 billion.

Shares of Microsoft initially dipped 2.4% in after-market hours following the results but later headed toward a record high by increasing as much as 3% on strong guidance. Currently, Microsoft carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and has a VGM Score of C. It falls under a top-ranked Zacks industry (top 22%), suggesting that it has room for upside.

ETFs in Focus

Investors seeking to bet on this software leader with lower risk could definitely look into the ETF world. While there are several ETF options available, we have highlighted five with a double-digit exposure to Microsoft.

iShares Dow Jones US Technology ETF (IYW - Free Report)

This ETF tracks the Dow Jones US Technology Index, giving investors exposure to 136 technology stocks. Out of these, Microsoft occupies the second position in the basket with 13.8% of assets. The fund has AUM of $4 billion and charges 44 bps in fees and expenses. Volume is good as it exchanges nearly 248,000 shares in hand a day. The fund has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy).

iShares Evolved U.S. Technology ETF (IETC - Free Report)

This is an active ETF and has newly debuted in the space last month, accumulating $4.7 million in its asset base so far. It employs data science techniques to provide exposure to 218 technology stocks. Microsoft takes the top spot at 12.8% share. IETC currently trades in a light volume of 3,000 shares and charges 18 bps in annual fees.

Select Sector SPDR Technology ETF (XLK - Free Report)

This most-popular technology ETF follows the Technology Select Sector Index and has $19.5 billion in AUM. The fund charges 13 bps in fees per year from investors and trades in heavy volume of around 14 million shares a day on average. It holds about 72 securities in its basket with Microsoft occupying the second position at 11.9%. It has a Zacks ETF Rank #2.

MSCI Information Technology Index ETF (FTEC - Free Report)

This fund is home to 347 technology stocks with AUM of $1.8 billion. It follows the MSCI USA IMI Information Technology Index. MSFT is the second firm with a 10.5% allocation. The ETF has 0.08% in expense ratio while volume is solid at 443,000 shares a day. It carries a Zacks ETF Rank #2.

Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT - Free Report)

This fund manages about $18.1 billion in its asset base and provides exposure to 358 technology stocks by tracking the MSCI US Investable Market Information Technology 25/50 Index. Here, MSFT takes the second spot with 10.2% share. The ETF has 0.10% in expense ratio, while volume is solid at nearly 674,000 shares. It has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold).