Micro-services can improve the performance of Magento 2.0 applications by separating core application processes. The document discusses how sessions, stock processing, quotes, and image resizing could each be developed as independent micro-services. This would allow those processes to run asynchronously and in parallel rather than blocking the main application. Micro-services help control memory usage and ensure applications can utilize asynchronous I/O. The presenter provides examples and encourages attendees to learn more about building micro-services using technologies like ReactPHP and PHPFastCGI.