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Co investoři vlastně získávají, když investují do akcií společností Microsoft, Amazon a Google? To je podle ředitele EZ Primary Research Eda Zitrona klíčová otázka a odpověď naznačuje například to, jak by se měly vyvíjet tržby v oblasti cloudových služeb Googlu. Zatímco se totiž očekává, že vysoké investice do AI infrastruktury přinesou podobným společnostem diverzifikovaný růst příjmů, realita se může odlišovat. Navíc expert přidal řadu dalších úvah na téma umělé inteligence a s ní souvisejících investic.

Zitron řekl, že podle jedné z analýz banky UBS bude 27 % letošních tržeb u cloudových služeb Googlu generováno dvěma společnostmi – OpenAI a Anthropic. Příští rok už by to mělo být více než 48 %, což v absolutním vyjádření představuje 124 miliard dolarů. K tomu expert dodal, že investoři nakupují akcie společností investujících do AI infrastruktury ve víře, že tyto výdaje firmám zajistí diverzifikované příjmy z vysoké poptávky po AI službách. Výše uvedené ale ukazuje, že Google bude tyto služby „prodávat dvěma neziskovým společnostem… Většina lidí neví, že OpenAI je velkým klientem Google Cloudu.“

OpenAI podle Zitrona generuje nemalou část příjmů i u cloudových služeb Microsoftu a Amazonu. „Všem je prodáváno to, co je podle mého názoru lež, určitý skandál,“ komentoval tuto situaci, kdy podle něj existuje velká provázanost výsledků hyperscalerů a jejich růstu s poskytováním jejich služeb společnosti OpenAI a Anthropic. První z nich přitom mluvila o letošním vstupu na akciový trh, nyní se spíše hovoří o příštím roce.

Právě IPO společnosti OpenAI by podle experta mohlo být určitým zlomem, kdy věci vyplynou na povrch. Včetně toho, jak „těžce centralizované“ je celé odvětví datových center a jejich příjmů. Tedy jak závislé jsou na poskytování služeb pro OpenAI, která je zase ve svém dalším podnikání a rozvoji závislá na externím přísunu kapitálu. Zitron už před časem psal o tom, že podle dostupných informací „společnost OpenAI dosáhla v roce 2025 tržeb ve výši 13,07 miliardy dolarů a její čistá ztráta činila 38,53 miliardy dolarů“.

Pokud má být využita plánovaná kapacita nově budovaných datových center, nestačí na to podle experta poptávka ze strany zmíněných dvou firem. „OpenAI je společnost, která pálí hotovost,“ velká část jejího financování jde ze strany Softbank. K tomu expert zmínil stále aktivnější čínské společnosti a modely umělé inteligence, které mohou pro americké firmy představovat konkurenci a tlak na tržby. Tedy budoucí využití v současnosti budovaných kapacit.

Zitron také připomněl, že společnosti jako Google bývaly málo investičně a kapitálově náročné, generovaly vysoký volný tok hotovosti a měly velkou zásobu hotovosti v rozvaze. Investice do datových center to změnila a nyní jde o společnosti s vysokými hmotnými aktivy, které podle výše uvedeného využívá jen pár zákazníků. Navíc zmíněné dvě společnosti nebudou schopné využít nově budované kapacity. A bez nich podle experta poptávka také dostatečná nebude.

Microsoft (MSFT +4.93%) and Apple (AAPL -1.78%) have been rivals for decades. Not only are they competing businesses, but their high valuations frequently make them among the most valuable companies in the world. Both are in the trillion-dollar club, with market caps well in excess of $1 trillion.

Currently, Apple is the more valuable of the two stocks, with a market cap of $4.5 trillion versus $3.6 trillion for Microsoft. But within the next 18 months, I believe Microsoft will surpass Apple and be the more valuable of the two. Here's why.

Image source: Getty Images.

Microsoft is in a better position to benefit from opportunities related to artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is a major growth opportunity in tech these days, and yet, neither of these tech companies is truly taking off because of it. Apple has been slow to roll out AI features on its iPhones, and Microsoft's Copilot assistant doesn't exactly have the best reputation.

But of the two, Microsoft looks to be in a better position. I've used Copilot regularly, and Microsoft lets users choose which chatbot to use for their queries. And Copilot can help users with day-to-day queries related to spreadsheets and Word documents, making the cost of upgrading to an AI-powered plan justifiable for businesses. It's just a matter of time before customers come around to that realization, but I'm confident that will happen. And when it does, Microsoft's growth rate could take off, and so too will the stock.

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Apple's stock is highly overvalued, and Microsoft still possesses some intriguing upside Apple's valuation is 25% higher than Microsoft's. It's not a huge gap, and one that I think will shrink and eventually disappear in the near future. Investors have piled into Apple as a safe-haven stock of late, but at 35 times earnings, it looks overpriced given the often sluggish and modest growth its business generates. Microsoft, by comparison, trading at 27 times its earnings, looks more reasonably valued and has been rising recently after posting strong quarterly results, and it could still have room to rise even higher.

Within the next 18 months, perhaps a whole lot sooner, I predict Microsoft will have a higher valuation than Apple. It has more upside and some exciting growth opportunities related to AI, while Apple may be due for a pullback given its inflated valuation. While both stocks can make for good long-term investments, Microsoft looks to be the far better buy right now.

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman runs Pershing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund that owns only about eight to 12 holdings at any given time. It's mostly focused on core U.S.-based, large-cap consumer-facing companies, but it currently holds three artificial intelligence (AI) stocks: Amazon (AMZN +4.58%), Microsoft (MSFT +4.93%), and Meta Platforms (META +6.02%).

These are all fairly new positions: The Amazon position is about a year old, the Meta position started at the end of 2025, and the Microsoft position was opened in early 2026. The fund previously held shares of Alphabet, but it closed out its position in the first quarter of 2026. At the time, Ackman said he wasn't betting against Google, but he needed capital to buy Microsoft, which he thought was a better deal.

Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management. Image source: Getty Images.

Out of these three stocks, Amazon looks like the best buy right now. Here's why.

Stacking up Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta are three of the most valuable companies in the world. They're all heavily investing in AI right now, but they use it in different ways.

Amazon and Microsoft compete in cloud services, but have other uses, too: Amazon has developed an AI chip business that, as a stand-alone business, is one of the three largest chip businesses in the world, and Microsoft's Copilot large language model (LLM) is built into its Office applications. Meta's LLM, Llama, is used by developers to create AI applications and by advertisers to run marketing campaigns on Meta's family of social media apps.

Here's how these companies performed in their most recent quarters and how expensive their stocks are as of this writing:

CompanyTotal SalesSales GrowthOperating Income GrowthP/E RatioAmazon$201 B20%43%22Microsoft$90 B18%18%26Meta$61 B28%(8)%21 Data source: Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta quarterly reports, YCharts. Growth is year over year.

Amazon is the largest company in the world by revenue, eclipsing Microsoft and Meta by more than double, yet it's growing rapidly, in line with much younger and smaller companies. It's also highly profitable, and its stock looks cheap.

It had a fantastic quarter in nearly every way, driven by AI momentum. Revenue from its cloud business, Amazon Web Services (AWS), increased 37% year over year, a major acceleration and back to the kind of growth it was experiencing several years ago when it was less than half the size it is today. It added $4.6 billion in the first quarter alone, which is 80% more than its largest increase by rate, and it has a $496 billion backlog, a triple-digit increase over last year.

Amazon previously said it would target $200 billion in capital expenditures (capex) this year, and it upped that to $220 billion due to increases in the price of memory products. CEO Andy detailed how the capex cycle works, explaining that there are two cycles: data centers, which last for about 30 years, and the infrastructure, which has a five- or six-year cycle.

While data centers require investments two years before they can be monetized, the infrastructure can be monetized within six months, giving Amazon more leeway to invest according to demand. Management expects to break even after two or three years, giving it another three or so years of increasing cash flow before it starts the cycle again.

More than the fundamentals The market had been pricing Amazon sluggishly as doubts crept in about whether this spending could lead to better operating results. Jassy has been adamant from the very beginning that Amazon has a massive opportunity and would need to invest to capitalize on it.

As the results begin to stream in, he maintains the positive long-term outlook. Even with its capex spend this year, he said, "We will still not have enough capacity to meet all the demand we have in 2026. And I believe this dynamic will also be true in 2027, too."

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And no one should forget the rest of Amazon. AWS accounts for less than a quarter of the company's sales, although it represented 60% of operating income in the second quarter. E-commerce is still responsible for most of its sales, and Pershing Square notes its leading position and its "one-of-a-kind logistics network that fulfills over $700 billion in gross merchandise value annually." It also believes that the retail business can nearly double profitability through "higher-margin advertising revenue, network density, and automation initiatives."

Amazon is the dominant player in two fast-growing businesses, it's investing for success, and it's priced to buy. Ackman isn't leaving this opportunity on the table, and retail investors should consider it, too.

The "Magnificent Seven" stocks are some of the world's most influential, successful companies, but all hasn't been peachy-keen with this bunch so far this year. The only two companies outperforming the S&P 500 as of market close on July 29 are Apple and Alphabet, up 24.8% and 6.8%, respectively, compared to the S&P 500's 6.7%.

Part of the down year is investors looking for value in more niche industries (like memory hardware), and part of it is investors looking for value in other sectors because of worries about inflated big tech stock valuations.

In either case, if I had to choose one to load up on right now, it'd be Microsoft (MSFT +4.93%), but in that same breath, Tesla (TSLA +3.49%) is a stock I'm currently avoiding. Here's why.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

A staple that's here to stay As of market close on July 29, Microsoft's stock was down 17.4% year to date. However, after reporting its fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter (Q4) results, the stock surged 9.5% in after-hours trading. The reason mainly comes down to Microsoft's AI investments showing signs of paying off.

Microsoft took a lot of heat for its spending, but it has progress to show for it. Its cloud platform Azure surpassed $100 billion in revenue for the first time, total Microsoft Cloud revenue increased 27% year over year (YOY) to $214 billion, and Microsoft 365 Copilot (Microsoft's AI assistant) doubled its paid seats from the previous quarter to 30 million.

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Even when Microsoft's stock is having a rough patch, I never second-guess whether it'll bounce back because the company is too important to the global business world. It's the marquee enterprise business-to-business company, with millions of businesses relying on various software and hardware for their daily operations.

That doesn't make the company or stock invincible by any means, but it's a competitive moat few can match. As the company continues to invest in cloud computing and AI infrastructure, it should continue its stronghold on the industry.

Microsoft isn't completely off the hook with its high capital expenditure (capex) plans, but some AI progress is enough to buy it some more time with investors. And with the stock trading at around 23.7 times its earnings (the third-cheapest of the Magnificent Seven), the upside far outweighs the potential downside.

TSLA PE Ratio data by YCharts

Are the red flags worth the price? I'll start with the good news about Tesla. In Q2, it increased its revenue by 26% YOY to $28.2 billion and set a company vehicle delivery record, with deliveries up 25% YOY to 480,216. That's commendable, but the one issue is how Tesla managed to do it.

Tesla essentially swapped out profit for volume. Its operating income (profit from core operations) dropped 57% YOY; its operating margin was 1.4%; and its free cash flow turned negative, coming in at -$1.09 billion.

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The decline in profits and free cash flow isn't ideal, but it's not the end of the world. The main issue is when you couple it with Tesla's capital expenditures. To be fair, Tesla's $5.79 billion in capex in Q2 is nowhere near the $43 billion Microsoft spent, but it was 142% more than Q2 last year. It expects its 2026 capex to be around $25 billion.

The spending itself would be easier to justify if Tesla had a clearer roadmap for its non-car sales segments. Its two long-term growth projects -- robotaxis and humanoid robots -- are likely many years from commercial use and even more years away from making worthwhile contributions to Tesla's earnings.

Tesla's car business isn't enough to justify its valuation. Investors are buying into the company because of its ambitious plans, but at some point, there has to be enough tangible progress. This is especially true for a stock trading at 277 times its earnings. There's expensive, and then there's that.

It has a lot of grey area to clear up before I'd feel comfortable buying the stock.

Gil Luria, D.A. Davidson head of technology research, joins 'The Exchange' to discuss which stocks are best positioned to win the AI race.

© AdrianHancu / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN | AMZN Price Prediction) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) each posted blowout quarters and jumped on the results. Both hyperscalers leaned hard on AI infrastructure, yet the shape of each beat differs. Amazon delivered its fastest AWS growth in 18 quarters. Microsoft crossed Azure’s first $100 billion year and 30 million Copilot seats. The reactions rhymed, but the businesses underneath diverge sharply.

AWS Reaccelerates While Azure Keeps Scaling Amazon reported EPS of $5.75 against a $1.8227 estimate on revenue of $200.61 billion, up 19.62% YoY. AWS grew 37% to $42.23 billion at a 39.4% operating margin. Andy Jassy told investors, “AWS is booming, growing 36.7% year-over-year in Q2, our fastest growth in 18 quarters, and our AI and Chips businesses each eclipsed run rates of more than $25 billion.” Advertising climbed 26% to $19.81 billion, and Prime shipped 40% more items same-day or overnight.

Microsoft posted EPS of $4.74 on revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.75% YoY. Intelligent Cloud jumped 32% to $39.31 billion, Azure grew 43%, and commercial RPO reached $678 billion, up 84%. Satya Nadella framed it as “advancing the frontier on the cost-to-outcome curve.” More Personal Computing slipped 4%, a reminder that Windows and Xbox no longer drive the narrative.

Full Stack vs. Enterprise Focus Amazon is building a full stack: Trainium and Graviton silicon, Bedrock foundation models, Zoox robotaxis approved by NHTSA, roughly 400 Amazon Leo satellites, and Amazon Now delivery across 250-plus cities. Microsoft narrowed focus to Azure, Copilot, GitHub, and Dynamics, backed by a reworked OpenAI pact that commits $250 billion of Azure services and extends IP rights through 2032.

Lens Amazon Microsoft Core Bet Own silicon, retail, and logistics Enterprise cloud plus OpenAI Cloud Growth AWS +37% Azure +43% Key Vulnerability Thin retail margins, tariff exposure GPU depreciation, partner profit share The Next Test Is Capex Discipline Both are spending like utilities. Amazon burned $54.21 billion of capex in one quarter, up 68.44%, and TTM free cash flow flipped to negative $7.6 billion. Microsoft ran full-year capex to $115.95 billion, up 109.63% in Q4, and quarterly free cash flow fell 23.19% to $19.64 billion. Prediction markets lean bullish, with a 60.71 composite sentiment score on AMZN and 64.09 on MSFT. Watch whether AWS holds near a 39% margin and whether Azure’s GPU depreciation cycle starts to bite.

Why I Lean Amazon After This Quarter Amazon reads better here. Operating income jumped 43.24% YoY even as capex surged, and the AI and custom chips businesses are already each past a $25 billion run rate. AMZN’s trailing P/E of about 22 looks reasonable next to its reaccelerating cloud engine. Microsoft owns the enterprise stack, but heavier merchant GPU depreciation and OpenAI profit-sharing now press against its 46.8% operating margin. For steadier compounding and a 0.77% dividend, Microsoft screens as the more defensive profile. Coming out of this quarter, Amazon shows the stronger operational setup.

Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Microsoft didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

This year has been a volatile one for Microsoft (MSFT +5.23%). The tech giant went on a sharp decline in the early part of 2026 as investors grew bearish on software stocks, and even a behemoth such as Microsoft wasn't spared. At one point, it was down well over 20%.

Recently, however, the company posted its fourth-quarter numbers, which sparked a revival. It's been surging over the past few days, and it's now back to around the levels where it started the year and is approaching $500. Could it be on its way to a new all-time high?

Image source: Getty Images.

Microsoft easily beat expectations in Q4 Last week, Microsoft reported fourth-quarter earnings that came in well ahead of analyst expectations. The company's revenue for the June quarter totaled $90 billion and rose 18% year over year, which was better than Wall Street projections of $87.6 billion. Its adjusted per-share profit of $4.74 was also well above the $4.24 expected by analysts.

Of key importance was also the growth rate in its cloud business, Azure. At 43%, that was a faster rate than the 40% growth it posted in the third quarter. Earlier this year, investors were growing concerned about Azure's slowing growth rate, but with that improving in Q4, investors have become bullish on the tech stock once again.

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Is Microsoft's stock still destined to rise higher? Microsoft's stock has been undervalued for much of the year, but it wasn't all that long ago that it looked a bit expensive; a year ago, it was trading at close to 40 times its trailing earnings. Now, with its value rising again, its price-to-earnings multiple is creeping up to around 27.

For long-term investors, the stock can still make for an excellent buy, but it's important to consider the valuation, as that could limit returns and even lead to losses, despite the business being a solid one. It's currently trading at a bit higher than the average S&P 500 stock (which trades at 25 times earnings), but the good news is that it's still not as expensive as it was last year.

Shares of Microsoft may continue to rise this year and even reach new all-time highs. Last year, they hit a peak of more than $553. This is a quality blue chip stock to hold for the long haul, given its dominance in the tech sector and how prevalent its products and services are throughout the corporate world.

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by Todd Bishop on Aug 3, 2026 at 10:38 amAugust 3, 2026 at 10:51 am

GeekWire Illustration Microsoft and Amazon both saw their stocks surge again Monday, riding a post-earnings tech wave across the stock market that pushed Amazon past $3 trillion in value for the first time.

The gains follow earnings reports last week in which both companies’ cloud platforms exceeded expectations. Microsoft said Azure grew 43%, passing $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time. Amazon said AWS grew 37%, its fastest pace in 18 quarters.

Microsoft and Amazon are now the world’s fourth and fifth most valuable companies, respectively. The three ahead of them (Nvidia, Alphabet and Apple) are all headquartered in the Bay Area, although each has sizeable engineering centers in the Seattle region.

Amazon rose 4.6% in intraday trading to $284.15 as of publication time, after touching an all-time high of $287.20 earlier in the session, giving it a market value of $3.06 trillion.

Microsoft climbed 5.2% to $488.97, worth $3.63 trillion. Its rally began Thursday, when it added nearly $450 billion in market value, the largest one-day gain by any company on record.

The rallies came despite AI spending plans that have unsettled investors for much of the year. Microsoft went into earnings near a one-year low, after a $357 billion wipeout to start the year.

It’s all still coming at a huge cost. Microsoft spent a record $41 billion on capital projects last quarter and told investors to expect more than $50 billion in the current quarter. Amazon raised its 2026 forecast to about $220 billion from $200 billion, citing rising memory chip prices.

In one sign of the impact of the spending, Microsoft’s free cash flow fell 23% last quarter. Amazon’s free cash flow turned negative for the first time since 2023.

But cloud growth and other signs of demand for AI seem to have appeased investors for now.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told investors the spending reflects unmet demand: “Even at that amount, we will still not have enough capacity to meet all the demand we have in 2026, and I believe this dynamic will also be true in 2027 too. In fact, the demand we already have for 2028 is striking.”

The gains come as both companies operate with fewer people. Amazon confirmed 16,000 more corporate job cuts in January, bringing the total to 30,000 since October, along with more recent reductions in its robotics and artificial general intelligence groups.

Microsoft cut 4,800 jobs in July, revamping its salesforce and overhauling Xbox.

Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 3rd, 2026

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 17.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,789 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,105 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,023,261 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $748,951,000 after acquiring an additional 116,547 shares during the period. NovaPoint Capital LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC now owns 30,785 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $11,396,000 after acquiring an additional 1,889 shares during the period. PeakShares LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 58.2% during the 1st quarter. PeakShares LLC now owns 4,412 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares during the period. Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.4% in the first quarter. Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV now owns 6,160 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.4% in the first quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 2,998 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $464.72 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $397.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $405.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Dbs Bank cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $558.64.

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More Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue increased 43% year over year, and annual Azure sales surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Management also guided to approximately 45% Azure growth in the next quarter, reinforcing confidence in Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise AI demand. Microsoft Shares Jump After Strong Outlook and Solid AI-Driven Growth Positive Sentiment: The earnings beat was substantial. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.74, above analyst estimates of $87.62 billion and $4.24, respectively. Net income reportedly rose 31%, while revenue increased about 18% year over year. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates as Cloud and AI Drive Results Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and financial discipline eased investor concerns. Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, its commercial remaining performance obligation reached $678 billion—up 84% year over year—and management held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady while emphasizing continued cash generation. Investors viewed this as a better balance between infrastructure investment and returns than some peers have demonstrated. Microsoft Eases AI Spending Concerns Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely reaffirmed bullish views, with several price-target increases, although estimates remain wide. Microsoft’s stock is now trading well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages after a historic rally, raising the possibility of increased volatility or profit-taking. Negative Sentiment: Microsoft continues to face risks from data-center power constraints, chip costs, regulatory scrutiny and the enormous scale of AI investment. A reported cloud-security flaw that could have exposed customers adds another operational concern. Cyber Firm Wiz Reports Microsoft Cloud Flaw Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities class-action lawsuit concerning investors who purchased Microsoft shares between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. Such announcements may create reputational and legal overhang, although they have not offset the earnings-driven optimism. Microsoft Securities Class Action Deadline Insider Buying and Selling In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

See Also Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Fixed-Income ETFs Show Why Yield Is Only Part of the Income Story AbbVie Quietly Solved Its Biggest Problem—Now What? Rio Tinto’s Results Make the Case for Looking Beyond Tech in the AI Trade Strategy’s Structural Strength: Hidden in a $8 Billion Illusion Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

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« PREVIOUS HEADLINECopeland Capital Management LLC Buys 17,260 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Microsoft (MSFT +3.70%) has not performed well this year. Investors are worried that artificial intelligence (AI) will replace many of the company's services, a sentiment that has put downward pressure on much of the software industry. Meanwhile, the company's heavy investments in AI may lead to lower profits and margins, or so the argument goes. However, Microsoft proved some doubters wrong with its latest earnings report, for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year 2026, which ended on June 30.

The company's revenue increased by a healthy 18% year over year to $90 billion, and even with massive AI investments, adjusted earnings per share climbed 23% year over year to $4.74. Microsoft's stock soared by 15% following its quarterly update, but there is one key reason -- or several hundred billion -- why there may be more upside ahead. Here's what investors need to know.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Microsoft Cloud for the win Microsoft's cloud computing business was, once again, the star of the show. Microsoft Cloud's sales jumped 27% year over year, while Azure revenue increased by 43%. This segment should continue driving growth for the foreseeable future. How do we know that? The company reported a cloud backlog of $678 billion as of the end of the quarter, up 84% year over year. This provides the tech leader with significant visibility into sustained demand and growth in its cloud business.

Also, Microsoft's AI-related investments are clearly having a positive impact on the business, even beyond driving meaningful cloud growth. Consider Microsoft Copilot, an AI assistant integrated across the company's apps and productivity suite that helps users automate tasks and improve productivity. Microsoft said that Microsoft 365 Copilot has 30 million paid seats (or active paid subscriptions), with net paid subscription adds more than doubling quarter over quarter.

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This provides further evidence that, rather than being replaced by AI, Microsoft is evolving with the technology by launching AI-powered services to make its customers' lives easier, and they are buying what the company is selling. Microsoft is dispelling some of the fears investors have had recently and showing that its long-term investment thesis remains strong. We haven't even touched on other aspects of the business, including its reliable income program and rock-solid balance sheet.

Despite all that, Microsoft's shares are still in the red this year, down 2% year to date as of writing. My view is that even with the massive post-earnings surge, there is still plenty of upside potential, given the tech leader's strong position in cloud computing, innovative abilities, significant free cash flow, and other aspects of the business that will enable it to pursue lucrative long-term opportunities.

NEW YORK, Aug. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Levi & Korsinsky, LLP alerts investors in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) of a pending securities class action. Class Period: May 1, 2025 through January 28, 2026. Check if you can recover your investment losses or contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. at [email protected] | (212) 363-7500.

Microsoft shares traded above $550 during the Class Period while the Company allegedly concealed material risks tied to multibillion-dollar AI partnerships. The Court has set August 11, 2026 as the deadline to apply for lead plaintiff appointment.

"Investors deserve transparency about material risks that could affect their investments. When a company commits tens of billions of dollars to partnerships structured so that investment dollars flow back as revenue, shareholders are entitled to understand the circularity and concentration risks involved." -- Joseph E. Levi, Esq.

The Alleged OpenAI and Anthropic Concentration Risk

The lawsuit asserts that management repeatedly downplayed concerns about the structure and risk profile of Microsoft's AI investment strategy. Microsoft invested over $13 billion in OpenAI and committed up to $5 billion in Anthropic, while simultaneously entering arrangements where those same partners committed to purchasing hundreds of billions in Azure services and compute capacity.

As alleged, this created a circular dynamic that defendants failed to adequately disclose, while also concealing significant problems with Copilot product quality, user adoption, and competitive positioning.

How Circular Arrangements Allegedly Inflated Growth Metrics

OpenAI contracted to purchase $250 billion in incremental Azure services, while Microsoft retained a 27% stake valued at $135 billionAnthropic committed to $30 billion of Azure compute capacity plus up to one gigawatt of additional capacity as part of a deal where Microsoft invested up to $5 billionManagement cited Azure revenue growth of 33% to 40% during the Class Period as evidence of organic AI demand without adequately disclosing how much was tied to these reciprocal arrangementsThe action claims defendants failed to disclose the concentration risk of depending on a small number of LLM partners for a significant portion of Azure's AI-driven growthNVIDIA was also part of the Anthropic partnership structure, adding further interdependency across the AI investment ecosystemThe Company planned to increase total AI capacity by 80% and roughly double its total data center footprint over two years based on what the lawsuit contends were overstated demand signals Why AI Capital Expenditure Returns Allegedly Mattered to Investors

The securities action claims that management represented Microsoft was "well positioned to achieve suitable returns on its AI-related investments" while failing to disclose significant technical, organizational, and adoption problems with its Copilot products that undermined those representations. Investors who purchased MSFT shares during the Class Period allegedly did so at prices inflated by these undisclosed risks.

Speak with an attorney about recovering damages or call (212) 363-7500.

WHY LEVI & KORSINSKY -- Ranked in ISS Securities Class Action Services' Top 50 Report for seven consecutive years, Levi & Korsinsky, LLP is a nationally recognized leader in shareholder rights litigation. With a team of over 70 professionals, the firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors.

Frequently Asked Questions About the MSFT Lawsuit

Q: Who is eligible to join the MSFT investor lawsuit? A: Investors who purchased MSFT stock or securities between May 1, 2025 and January 28, 2026 and suffered financial losses may be eligible. Eligibility is based on purchase date and documented losses, not on whether you still hold the shares.

Q: What specific misstatements does the MSFT lawsuit allege? A: The complaint alleges Microsoft made materially false or misleading statements regarding the success and adoption of its AI initiatives, including the Copilot product family and Azure cloud platform, while failing to disclose significant technical, organizational, and interoperability problems affecting Copilot, as well as the diversion of computing capacity away from Azure to fix those problems. When the true state was revealed, the stock price declined sharply.

Q: What do MSFT investors need to do right now? A: Gather brokerage records including purchase dates, share quantities, and prices paid. Contact Levi & Korsinsky for a free, no-obligation evaluation at [email protected] or (212) 363-7500. No immediate action is required to remain eligible as a class member.

Q: What is a lead plaintiff and why does it matter? A: A lead plaintiff is the investor appointed by the court to represent the entire class. Lead plaintiffs are typically investors with the largest documented losses. Being appointed does not increase individual recovery but gives direct oversight of how the case is run.

Q: What if I already sold my MSFT shares -- can I still recover losses? A: Yes. Eligibility is based on when you purchased, not whether you still hold them. Investors who bought during the class period and sold at a loss may still participate.

Q: What does it cost me to participate? A: Nothing. Securities class actions are handled on a pure contingency basis. No upfront fees, no retainer, no out-of-pocket costs.

Q: How long will the lawsuit take to resolve? A: Securities class actions typically take two to four years from initial filing to resolution.

CONTACT:

Levi & Korsinsky, LLP
Joseph E. Levi, Esq.
Ed Korsinsky, Esq.
33 Whitehall Street, 27th Floor
New York, NY 10004
[email protected]
Tel: (212) 363-7500
Fax: (212) 363-7171

Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 3rd, 2026

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 984,801 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,918 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 4.8% of Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $364,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MTM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the first quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 18,152 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,719,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,620 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,522,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 35,800 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $13,252,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in Microsoft by 38.9% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 39,675 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,686,000 after purchasing an additional 11,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 73,448 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $27,188,000 after purchasing an additional 5,520 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $464.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $397.99 and a 200-day moving average of $405.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial cut Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Dbs Bank decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $558.64.

View Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT

More Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue increased 43% year over year, and annual Azure sales surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Management also guided to approximately 45% Azure growth in the next quarter, reinforcing confidence in Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise AI demand. Microsoft Shares Jump After Strong Outlook and Solid AI-Driven Growth Positive Sentiment: The earnings beat was substantial. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.74, above analyst estimates of $87.62 billion and $4.24, respectively. Net income reportedly rose 31%, while revenue increased about 18% year over year. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates as Cloud and AI Drive Results Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and financial discipline eased investor concerns. Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, its commercial remaining performance obligation reached $678 billion—up 84% year over year—and management held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady while emphasizing continued cash generation. Investors viewed this as a better balance between infrastructure investment and returns than some peers have demonstrated. Microsoft Eases AI Spending Concerns Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely reaffirmed bullish views, with several price-target increases, although estimates remain wide. Microsoft’s stock is now trading well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages after a historic rally, raising the possibility of increased volatility or profit-taking. Negative Sentiment: Microsoft continues to face risks from data-center power constraints, chip costs, regulatory scrutiny and the enormous scale of AI investment. A reported cloud-security flaw that could have exposed customers adds another operational concern. Cyber Firm Wiz Reports Microsoft Cloud Flaw Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities class-action lawsuit concerning investors who purchased Microsoft shares between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. Such announcements may create reputational and legal overhang, although they have not offset the earnings-driven optimism. Microsoft Securities Class Action Deadline Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Fixed-Income ETFs Show Why Yield Is Only Part of the Income Story AbbVie Quietly Solved Its Biggest Problem—Now What? Rio Tinto’s Results Make the Case for Looking Beyond Tech in the AI Trade Strategy’s Structural Strength: Hidden in a $8 Billion Illusion

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« PREVIOUS HEADLINEFAS Wealth Partners Inc. Has $4.03 Million Position in The Boeing Company $BA

Space Exploration Technologies, which operates in the space transportation, satellite internet connectivity, and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure industries, went public on June 12. Its stock quickly rallied to a peak of $225, but it has since lost half of its value and closed at just over $108 on Friday, July 31.

But SpaceX still has a hefty market capitalization of $1.43 trillion. Since the company generated just $19.3 billion in revenue over the last four quarters, its stock remains at a sky-high price-to-sales ratio of 74, making it almost 12 times as expensive as the Nasdaq-100 technology index.

That means more downside could be ahead, which is why if I had $1,000 to invest today, I'd look elsewhere. Here's why I think Microsoft (MSFT +3.02%) will perform significantly better over the long term.

Image source: Getty Images.

Azure is growing at an accelerated pace Azure is Microsoft's cloud computing platform, and offers hundreds of services to help businesses thrive in the digital era, whether they need simple data storage or complex software development tools. But it has also become a leading distribution platform for all of the tools enterprises need to develop and deploy AI software, and this is driving a new phase of revenue growth.

Running AI software requires a substantial amount of computing power, which is typically delivered by data centers, which house thousands of specialized chips called graphics processing units (GPUs). Most businesses don't have billions of dollars to build this infrastructure themselves, so they instead rent it from providers like Azure and only pay for what they use.

Microsoft ended its 2026 fiscal year (which wrapped up on June 30) with a staggering $678 billion order backlog from customers who were waiting for Azure to bring more data center capacity online, an 84% year-over-year increase. The company built 88 new data centers worldwide over the last 12 months as part of a two-year plan to double its infrastructure footprint, but it will have to continue building aggressively if it wants to convert that massive backlog into revenue.

Azure offers a platform called Foundry that makes it easy to combine data center compute with a selection of over 11,000 ready-made large language models (LLMs) from leading developers like OpenAI. This gives businesses plenty of options for rapidly building AI agents, AI chatbots, and other AI software applications.

Azure's total annual revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time in fiscal 2026, and in the fourth quarter, the platform posted a whopping 43% year-over-year growth. It was the second consecutive quarter in which that growth rate accelerated, highlighting the cloud provider's incredible momentum.

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Copilot for 365 has a record number of enterprise users Microsoft is also kicking major AI-related goals outside of Azure. The company has been integrating its Copilot virtual assistant into legacy software products like Windows, Bing, Edge, and the 365 productivity suite (which includes Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), where it's experiencing rapid uptake.

As of June 30, companies all over the world were paying for 30 million Copilot for 365 licenses, which was a 50% increase from March 31, just three months earlier. But that represents a mere fraction of the opportunity at hand, because companies pay for over 400 million 365 licenses for their employees, and all of them are candidates for the Copilot upgrade. In other words, Copilot could bring in billions of dollars in annual revenue as adoption ramps up -- and that's just from 365 alone.

By using its existing portfolio of software products to sell Copilot, Microsoft has a massive advantage over pure-play AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, which have to acquire customers from scratch.

Microsoft stock trades at an attractive price Microsoft stock soared by 15% on July 30, the first trading day after it reported its fiscal 2026 results. Nevertheless, based on the company's annual earnings of $17.65 per share, its stock is still trading at an attractive price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 25.1. That's a 21% discount to its five-year average of 32.3.

Data by YCharts.

Microsoft is also much cheaper than the Nasdaq-100 index, which has a P/E ratio of 33.1. That suggests it's probably still undervalued compared to a basket of its big-tech peers. Moreover, with a price-to-sales ratio of 10.1, Microsoft is dramatically cheaper than SpaceX.

As a result, even after its recent rally, I still think Microsoft stock has significantly more upside potential than SpaceX from here.

NEW YORK, Aug. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading securities law firm Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and certain of the Company’s senior executives for securities fraud after its significant stock drop resulting from potential violations of the federal securities laws.

If you invested in Microsoft, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/microsoft-class-action-lawsuit.

Key Details of the Microsoft ($MSFT) Class Action:

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 11, 2026Alleged Misconduct: Securities fraud alleging that Microsoft misled investors regarding its Azure cloud computing platform and AI chatbot CopilotStock Drop: January 28, 2026 – 10% Stock DropCourt: U.S. District Court for the Western District of WashingtonAction: Contact BFA Law to discuss your rights
Investors have until August 11, 2026 to ask the Court to be appointed to lead the case. The complaint asserts securities fraud claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on behalf of investors in Microsoft common stock. The class action is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. It is captioned City of St. Clair Shores Police and Fire Retirement System, et al., No. 26-cv-02071.

Why is Microsoft Being Sued for Securities Fraud?

Microsoft is a multinational technology company that develops software, cloud services, and devices. In recent years, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform named Azure has been Microsoft’s main growth driver. A key reason for Azure’s recent growth is Microsoft’s multi-billion-dollar investment into AI, including the development of its own generative AI chatbot named Copilot.

According to the complaint, during the relevant period, Microsoft consistently touted Copilot’s best-in-class capabilities, which purportedly drove widespread and growing user adoption. Copilot’s apparent success allowed Microsoft to report surging Azure-related revenue.

As alleged, in truth, Copilot suffered from severe functionality issues that caused user adoption to decline and put Microsoft’s Azure revenue at risk.

Why did Microsoft’s Stock Drop?

On January 28, 2026, Microsoft announced disappointing 2Q 2026 financial results and that Azure growth had slowed suddenly. Microsoft also allegedly revealed for the first time that the number of Microsoft 365 Copilot premium customers totaled only 15 million, materially below analyst estimates.

This news caused the price of Microsoft common stock to decline $48.13 per share, or 10%, from $481.63 per share on January 28, 2026, to $433.50 per share on January 29, 2026.

Additionally, on February 3, 2026, The Wall Street Journal reported in an article titled “Microsoft’s Pivotal AI Product Is Running Into Big Problems” that severe challenges and functionality issues had plagued Copilot, causing the application to lose market share. Specifically, The Wall Street Journal reported that “[c]onfusing brand positioning and interoperability problems have frustrated users.”

Click here for more information: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/microsoft-class-action-lawsuit.

What Can You Do?

If you invested in Microsoft, you may have legal options and are encouraged to submit your information to the firm.

All representation is on a contingency fee basis; there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses.

Submit your information by visiting:

https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/microsoft-class-action-lawsuit

Or contact:
Adam McCall
[email protected]
212.789.3619

Why Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP?

BFA is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It has been named a top plaintiff law firm by Chambers USA, The Legal 500, and ISS SCAS, and its attorneys have been named “Elite Trial Lawyers” by the National Law Journal, “Litigation Stars” by Benchmark Litigation, among the top “500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers” by Lawdragon, “Titans of the Plaintiffs’ Bar” by Law360 and “SuperLawyers” by Thomson Reuters.

Most recently, The Legal 500 awarded BFA the most client satisfaction accolades of any plaintiff’s securities litigation law firm, with clients noting: “[t]here is no better service provider in the practice area,” “[t]he interest of the client is always front and center,” and “[t]here isn’t a better firm in this space.” One testimonial described the firm as “nimble and entrepreneurial,” with a “relentless focus on adding value for clients.”

Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.’s Board of Directors, as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd.

For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit https://www.bfalaw.com.

https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/microsoft-class-action-lawsuit

Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of Microsoft Corporation logo in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

Aug 3 (Reuters) - Steelmaker ArcelorMittal (MT.LU), opens new tab said on ​Monday it was ‌expanding its collaboration with Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab as ​part of ​its "Cloud First, Data Centric" ⁠strategy, which ​uses Azure as ​its primary cloud computing platform.

The company said ​it would ​integrate Microsoft Fabric, Purview ‌and ⁠Foundry to modernize its IT systems, improve cybersecurity ​and ​reduce ⁠its reliance on legacy ​technology. Financial ​terms ⁠of the deal were not ⁠disclosed.

Learn about the latest breakthroughs in AI and tech with the Reuters Artificial Intelligencer newsletter. Sign up here.

Reporting ​by Zakarya ​Meliani in Gdansk, editing ​by Milla Nissi-Prussak

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - August 2, 2026) - Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC, a nationally recognized investor-rights law firm, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and certain of its officers.

This lawsuit seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws on behalf of all persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Microsoft securities between May 1, 2025 and January 28, 2026, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"). Such investors are encouraged to join this case by visiting the firm's site: bgandg.com/MSFT.

Microsoft Case Details

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements because they failed to disclose that:

Microsoft's Copilot family of products had experienced significant brand positioning, user experience, usage, data siloing, computational capacity, organizational, and interoperability problems; Microsoft's flagship proprietary AI model ranked well below competitors on a number of benchmark tests; Microsoft needed to increase by billions of dollars its capital expenditures and divert graphics processing unit ("GPU") and central processing unit ("CPU") capacity away from fulfilling demand for its profitable Azure services in order to improve the competitive positioning of its critical Copilot family of products and increase its AI-related research and development ("R&D"); and as a result of the above, Microsoft had failed to convert a significant percentage of its commercial Microsoft 365 users to paid Copilot subscriptions and Microsoft's Copilot offerings had lost market share to rival products, a trend that was increasing.What's Next for Microsoft Investors?

A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, you can visit the firm's site: bgandg.com/MSFT, or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Client Relations Manager, Nathan Miller, of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 917-590-0911. If you suffered a loss in Microsoft you have until August 11, 2026, to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff.

No Cost to Microsoft Investors

We, Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC, represent investors in class actions on a contingency fee basis. That means we will ask the court to reimburse us for out-of-pocket expenses and attorneys' fees, usually a percentage of the total recovery, only if we are successful.

Why Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC for Microsoft Securities Class Action?

Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a nationally recognized firm that represents investors in securities fraud class actions and shareholder derivative suits. Our firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors nationwide. More at www.bgandg.com

"Our practice centers on restoring investor capital and ensuring corporate accountability, which serves to uphold the essential integrity of the marketplace," said Peretz Bronstein, Founding Partner of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, or Instagram.

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Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/301536

Source: Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC

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Microsoft: Consistent Revenue ClimbsMicrosoft (MSFT +3.02%) primarily generates revenue by licensing software, selling computing devices, and providing cloud infrastructure services to businesses and individuals.

It recently expanded data center agreements with several partners, and it reported a 40% net income margin for the quarter ended June 30, 2026.

Apple: Navigating Seasonal Revenue CyclesApple (AAPL -7.35%) earns most of its money by conceptualizing and selling consumer electronic devices, alongside an array of subscription services.

It faced regulatory actions in the European Union regarding its digital storefront, while reporting a 27% net income margin for the quarter ended June 27, 2026.

Why Revenue Matters for Retail InvestorsRevenue gives investors a top-level view of how much money a business brings in before expenses are deducted. Tracking this figure helps investors understand the total scale and top-line growth trajectory of a company.

Quarterly Revenue for Microsoft and AppleQuarter (Period End)Microsoft RevenueApple RevenueQ3 2024$65.6 billion (period ended Sept. 2024)$94.9 billion (period ended Sept. 2024)Q4 2024$69.6 billion (period ended Dec. 2024)$124.3 billion (period ended Dec. 2024)Q1 2025$70.1 billion (period ended March 2025)$95.4 billion (period ended March 2025)Q2 2025$76.4 billion (period ended June 2025)$94.0 billion (period ended June 2025)Q3 2025$77.7 billion (period ended Sept. 2025)$102.5 billion (period ended Sept. 2025)Q4 2025$81.3 billion (period ended Dec. 2025)$143.8 billion (period ended Dec. 2025)Q1 2026$82.9 billion (period ended March 2026)$111.2 billion (period ended March 2026)Q2 2026$90.0 billion (period ended June 2026)$109.4 billion (period ended June 2026)Data source: Company filings. Data as of July 31, 2026.

Foolish TakeApple’s revenue trend shows a sales spike in the fourth quarter, which is the company’s fiscal first quarter. This makes sense given its focus on consumer products and the holiday shopping season.

Microsoft, once a direct competitor of Apple, now produces more of its income from cloud computing than consumer electronics. As a result, it’s experiencing consistent quarter-over-quarter sales growth as demand for its artificial intelligence offerings contribute to this expansion.

In fact, Microsoft stock has soared since reporting results for its fiscal fourth quarter ended June 30. Its $90 billion represented strong 18% year-over-year sales growth. But what propelled its shares upward was an increase in fiscal Q4 diluted earnings per share to $4.81, up from $3.65 in the previous year. This demonstrated that the company can grow profits while investing heavily in AI.

On the other hand, Apple stock crumbled after it reported record revenue of $109.4 billion in its fiscal third quarter ended June 27. The business performance wasn’t the cause of the share price decline, but rather, the company’s assessment that shortages in memory components, caused by the rise of AI, would lead to supply constraints going forward.

Tech giants Microsoft (MSFT +3.02%) and Meta Platforms (META +3.28%) have posted a disappointing stock market performance so far in 2026, with shares of both companies in the red as of this writing.

While Meta Platforms is down 14% this year, Microsoft has dropped 2%. Both Magnificent Seven stocks recently reported their quarterly results, and there was a stark contrast in the way the market reacted to their earnings reports. Let's see why that was the case.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Microsoft stock soars after a solid report Shares of Microsoft popped more than 15% after the company released its fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter results (for the three months ended June 30) on July 29. Investors were happy with Microsoft's forecast that it will remain cash flow positive in fiscal 2027 despite investments in infrastructure to meet the growing demand for its artificial intelligence (AI) services.

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Microsoft projects $175 billion in capex for calendar 2026, below the $190 billion analyst estimate. It is also worth noting that Microsoft management remarked on the latest earnings call that its fiscal 2027 capex will increase year over year. So, the company's focus on prudently spending cash to build AI infrastructure has boosted investors' confidence in the stock, which explains the post-earnings pop.

Microsoft posted $332 billion in revenue in fiscal 2026, up by 18% from the prior year. Additionally, the company's non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) increased by 22% year over year to $17.28. The tech giant has a large enough backlog to sustain healthy growth over the long run. It reported $678 billion in commercial remaining performance obligation (RPO) last quarter. The metric, which refers to the total value of contracts yet to be fulfilled at the end of a quarter, increased by 84%.

This tremendous backlog should support robust growth in Microsoft's cloud business over the long run, while the company's focus on keeping spending at reasonable levels should support bottom-line growth. This is why analysts have become bullish about Microsoft's earnings growth prospects.

Data by YCharts

The chart above indicates that Microsoft's earnings growth will eventually accelerate, which could set this tech stock up for healthy long-term gains.

Meta's aggressive spending has spooked investors Meta released its second-quarter results on July 29, the same day as Microsoft, but its stock headed in the opposite direction and fell over 9% the following day. It was easy to see why that was the case.

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Though Meta's Q2 revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, its net income fell 14%. Meta's earnings per share of $6.18 landed well below the $7.22 consensus estimate. The company's aggressive AI infrastructure build-out led to a severe dent in the free cash flow, which fell to $784 million from $8.55 billion a year ago.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg pointed out on an earnings call with analysts that the company will "continue to invest aggressively in infrastructure" to support the growing demand for AI in its products and services. The company has narrowed its 2026 capex guidance to a range of $130 billion to $145 billion from the earlier range of $125 billion to $145 billion.

The higher floor suggests a 90% increase in capex this year at the midpoint, compared to last year's outlay of $72.2 billion. This increased spending explains why analysts have been reducing their bottom-line estimates for Meta. Consensus estimates project a 3% increase in Meta's earnings per share in 2026 to $32.12.

The earnings estimate was slightly higher at $33.07 per share a week ago. The EPS estimate for 2027 has also moved lower over the past week. So, the negative analyst sentiment could continue to weigh on Meta stock. Does this mean Microsoft is the better buy right now?

The discussion above indicates that Microsoft is currently poised to deliver stronger earnings growth than Meta. Also, investor sentiment is in Microsoft's favor following its latest quarterly report. Moreover, both stocks are almost in the same position when their valuations are considered, with Microsoft being slightly more expensive of the two.

Data by YCharts

So, it is easy to see that Microsoft is the better tech giant to buy right now, as its ability to deliver healthy earnings growth and attractive valuation should help it outperform Meta Platforms.

Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of [url="]Kahn Swick and Foti[/url], LLC (“KSF”), announces that K

Daily Amazon.com, Inc. Amazon ripped 15% higher after cloud revenue drove its strongest quarterly growth in more than four years. Microsoft added another 3% Friday on top of Thursday’s 15% gain, the biggest single-day move that stock has made since 2008. Two weeks ago the market was ready to bury the hyperscaler trade. Amazon and Microsoft killed that narrative in back-to-back sessions, and the shorts who had been pressing the supply chain all month paid for it.

The PHLX Semiconductor Index added only 0.07% Friday and sits more than 20% below its June 22 record close. Amazon and Microsoft stopped the selling. They have not rebuilt the chip trend.

Apple Dragged Technology Lower on Its Own Apple fell 7.4% on supply constraint warnings. iPhone sales were strong. The market sold the guidance and took the entire technology sector down with it. Consumer discretionary jumped 6.07% on Amazon. Communication services gained 4.60%. Technology, materials, health care, utilities, consumer staples and real estate all finished lower.

Stocks in the News Monolithic Power Systems added more than 8% after forecasting third-quarter revenue above estimates. GoDaddy dropped nearly 17% after narrowing its annual revenue forecast.

What to Watch Amazon and Microsoft proved the AI spending story is producing revenue, but the chip group needs to follow through on its own before the July break gets called finished. The PHLX index is still 20% below its record and two days of buying after a month of selling is not a recovery. The broader market needs participation. Most S&P 500 stocks finished lower Friday even as the index closed higher.

The S&P 500 closed above its 50-day moving average and needs to build a base there rather than fall back into the retracement zone. The Nasdaq rallied hard off the lows but the spike bottom leaves it vulnerable to a pullback early next week if there is no follow-through. The three Fed officials who dissented Wednesday called Friday for immediate action to return inflation to 2%. The two-year yield rose 5.4 basis points to 4.28% and FedWatch has September hike odds at 65%. The earnings are doing the work. The bond market is still fighting them.

It has been a tough start to the year for Microsoft's (MSFT +3.02%) stock, but after it reported earnings for its fiscal year 2026 (ended June 30), the stock rallied, with a single-day jump of 15%. The stock is still in the red for the year, but it's up 27% from the 52-week low it hit on June 25 and has a lot of momentum on its side.

There's much to be encouraged about from Microsoft's earnings report, but is now the right time to invest after a sudden surge? It comes down to your reason for investing, but for long-term investors, it's still a great go-to.

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Microsoft is slowly quieting spending concerns Much of Microsoft's stock troubles this year can be tied back to its artificial intelligence (AI) spending (current and planned). Many investors weren't convinced that Microsoft's capital expenditures (capex) would translate to a solid return on investment. And although we're still a ways from knowing whether they will, Microsoft's latest results show glimpses of progress.

Microsoft Azure revenue increased 41% year over year (YOY) and crossed the $100 billion annual revenue mark for the first time ever, and Microsoft Cloud revenue increased 27% YOY to over $214 billion. Its AI dealings are more than just cloud, but that's a good indicator that Microsoft is getting a return on its investment.

Microsoft's $678 billion cloud backlog is also a sign that demand remains high, though a large chunk of it is tied to OpenAI. That's not ideal, but the backlog grew 25% YOY even without OpenAI.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Microsoft's consumer businesses aren't doing too well While AI and cloud performance will get much of the attention, it's worth pointing out that Microsoft has other segments headed in the opposite direction. In this most recent quarter, its "more personal computing" segment's revenue dropped 4% YOY, Xbox hardware sales dropped 13%, and Windows OEM/devices revenue fell 7%.

These businesses aren't nearly as important to Microsoft's growth as cloud and its other AI ambitions, but they're worth keeping an eye on nonetheless.

Should you buy Microsoft right now? If you buy Microsoft right now, don't let it be because of the current rally. Although not to this extent, we've seen Microsoft's stock rally a couple of times this year -- 14% between April 10 and April 17, and over 11% between May 27 and June 1 -- and it retreated both times. This doesn't mean it'll happen again, but rather that rallies aren't forever.

That said, I think Microsoft is a no-brainer buy for long-term investors. It's a growing cash cow that's much cheaper than it has been over the past five years. It may have rough patches, but you don't have to second-guess its ability to thrive through them.

If you're concerned about a pullback after the recent surge, consider dollar-cost averaging and making your investments over a few set periods.

Lisa Martin breaks down this quarter's Big Tech earnings, explaining why investor reactions are driven as much by expectations and timing as the results themselves. She discusses how hyperscalers are being held to a higher standard, why Microsoft's (MSFT) earnings helped calm concerns that emerged after Alphabet's (GOOGL) report, and how Microsoft has become a benchmark for both cloud computing and AI.

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SummaryAzure surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue while quarterly growth accelerated to 43%, proving AI demand continues strengthening rather than slowing.Commercial remaining performance obligations surged 84% to $678 billion, providing exceptional revenue visibility supported by broad enterprise AI adoption beyond OpenAI.Capital expenditures increased roughly 70% year over year to $41 billion, yet Microsoft still generated $19.6 billion in free cash flow and expanded operating income 18%.AI monetization expanded across GitHub Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Fabric, Foundry, and security, creating a reinforcing ecosystem rather than isolated products.Premium valuation remains justified because consensus expects revenue approaching $744 billion and EPS exceeding $41 by FY2031, compressing today's forward multiples substantially. tupungato/iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Investment Thesis Microsoft (MSFT) has achieved far more than merely exceeding expectations, as they have changed the whole discussion about the importance of making AI infrastructure investments strategically. For almost two years, the market has questioned

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