Microsoft is telling developers working on AI coding projects to rely on OpenAI's top-tier model over rival products as part of an effort to maximize efficiency.
"Internally, shifting more workloads to OpenAI models helps us get greater value from our token investment," Jay Parikh, executive vice president of Microsoft's CoreAI engineering group, wrote this week in a memo to employees that was viewed by CNBC. Tokens measure the scale of AI processing, with one token equal to about three-quarters of a word.
While Microsoft has built its own artificial intelligence programming model and gives cloud customers access to over 11,000 models, including from Anthropic, the company wants staffers to take advantage of valuable intellectual property rights that come from the software giant's early investment in OpenAI.
Parikh, whose group includes GitHub, Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code, told staffers to default to OpenAI's flagship GPT-5.6 Sol when working in the GitHub Copilot coding tool, and use that model most of the time. OpenAI released GPT-5.6 Sol in July.
Efficiency in AI spending is becoming increasingly important across corporate America after a brief era of so-called tokenmaxxing, when developers were encouraged to run up large token bills without worrying about their output.
A slew of open-weight models, largely out of China, have gained popularity because they're cheaper to access than the frontier models and allow users to tweak them and host their work on the infrastructure of their choice.
For the large hyperscalers, Wall Street is starting to demand more from their massive AI spending commitments, with capital expenditures from Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta expected to top $700 billion collectively this year. Across the group, free cash flow dwindled in the latest quarter — and even went negative for Amazon and Alphabet. Microsoft's cash generation fell by 23% from a year earlier, a mild decrease compared to its peers.
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Microsoft's stock rallied 22% last week on earnings, its strongest weekly performance since 1999. It's still trailing most of the company's megacap peers, with the stock now up about 1% for the year.
The CoreAI group will adjust defaults as models and products change, Parikh wrote. A Microsoft spokesperson said by email that the company periodically updates "the default model settings in our internal tools to balance performance and efficient use of resources."
"We have set OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol as the default for Microsoft's internal use of GitHub Copilot while continuing to offer a range of model options that can be selected at any time by our engineers," the spokesperson wrote.
The guidance comes nine months after OpenAI completed a corporate restructuring that included extending IP rights for Microsoft through 2032. Microsoft said in April it was ceasing revenue-sharing payments to OpenAI.
In the meantime, Microsoft has been tightening its relationship with Anthropic, agreeing to invest up to $5 billion in the company late last year and releasing the Copilot Cowork product containing its models. Anthropic committed to spend $30 billion on Microsoft Azure cloud services. But the companies haven't made public assurances on intellectual property.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has said companies can lower costs by separating AI services from models. For example, Anthropic's Claude Code software development agent only provides access to Anthropic models, while GitHub Copilot offers models from Anthropic, Google, Moonshot AI, OpenAI, xAI and Microsoft itself.
With GitHub Copilot, Microsoft was early to instruct AI models to compose lines of code. Newer products such as Cursor took market share in the rapidly evolving market. Last week Microsoft said GitHub Copilot has 50 million users.
Parikh noted that while Microsoft divisions are managing AI token budgets, CoreAI has not yet established budgets for individual teams or employees. He encouraged each employee to find an example of AI spending that helped a customer or business outcome as well as one that did not.
"If you have a big idea or big project that will need significant token usage, have a quick chat with your manager," Parikh wrote.
Technology news website 404 Media reported on the memo earlier.
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - August 5, 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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To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/301537
Source: Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC
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NEW YORK, Aug. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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:
(1) Microsoft’s Copilot family of products had experienced significant brand positioning, user experience, usage, data siloing, computational capacity, organizational, and interoperability problems;
(2) Microsoft’s flagship proprietary AI model ranked well below competitors on a number of benchmark tests;
(3) 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
(4) 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.
Contact Info
Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or Nathan Miller
Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC
917-590-0911 | [email protected]
Attorney advertising.
Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has received a fresh price target increase from Wall Street after its latest earnings results reinforced confidence in the company’s artificial intelligence and cloud growth strategy.
In this regard, Tigress Financial Partners reiterated its ‘Buy’ rating on Microsoft and raised its 12-month price target to $690 from $595, representing a 15.97% increase from the firm’s previous forecast.
Based on Microsoft’s press-time price of $489, the new target implies upside potential of roughly 40%.
The revised outlook comes as analysts continue to highlight Microsoft’s leadership in artificial intelligence, accelerating Azure cloud growth, and expanding monetization of its Copilot platform.
According to Tigress Financial Partners analyst Ivan Feinseth, Microsoft’s AI, cloud, and software ecosystem remain key drivers of durable growth and long-term shareholder value.
The firm pointed to accelerating Azure performance, growing Copilot adoption, and a record commercial backlog as major catalysts supporting future revenue expansion.
The analyst also noted that Microsoft’s disciplined capital allocation strategy continues to strengthen returns on capital while reinforcing its competitive position in AI.
In particular, the firm sees Copilot adoption reaching an inflection point across Microsoft’s extensive installed customer base, creating a significant long-term monetization opportunity.
The latest target increase aligns with broader Wall Street sentiment toward Microsoft stock.
To that end, data from TipRanks shows that 36 analysts covering Microsoft maintain a consensus ‘Strong Buy’ rating. Among them, 35 recommend buying the stock, while one has a Hold rating and none recommend selling.
MSFT 12-month stock price prediction. Source: TipRanks The average 12-month Microsoft stock price target stands at $560.52, implying upside of approximately 14.6% from the current share price. Analysts’ targets range from a low of $450 to a high of $690.
MSFT stock fundamentals The outlook comes as Microsoft shares have rebounded from earlier volatility, supported by stronger-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 results.
For fiscal 2026, revenue rose 18% to $331.8 billion, while diluted earnings per share increased 32% to $17.95. In the fourth quarter, revenue reached $90 billion and earnings came in at $4.74 per share, both ahead of Wall Street estimates.
Azure revenue growth accelerated to 43%, pushing its annual revenue run rate above $100 billion for the first time.
Microsoft Cloud revenue climbed 27% to $214.4 billion, while commercial remaining performance obligation, a key measure of future contracted revenue, jumped 84% to $678 billion. Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption also continued to expand, surpassing 30 million paid seats.
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Výraz Mag7 popisující sedmičku oblíbených velkých technologických společností se stále intenzivně používá. Je ale podle mě vysoce pravděpodobné, že jednou to s ním bude třeba jako s dnes už v podstatě zapomenutou skupinou BRIC. První fází tohoto odchodu z prémiové pozice by mohly být valuace. Dnes o nich právě z pohledu „prémiové“ a většinové skupiny, k tomu pár úvah o dalším pokračování současného valuačního cyklu.
Největších pět firem v indexu S&P 500 nyní představuje NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon a Alphabet. V roce 2000 to byly General Electric, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Walmart a ExxonMobil. To samo o sobě ukazuje, jak mohutné jsou posuny z prémiových pozic. A uvádím to i jako úvod k následujícímu grafu. Ten ukazuje, jak se vyvíjel poměr cen akcií k ziskům u pětky největších společností na trhu a u zbylých 495 akcií. Celkově tu vidíme dva cykly, kdy rostou valuace na celém trhu a zároveň se největší akcie svým PE odtrhávají od zbytku trhu. Pak se zase tato mezera uzavírá. Nyní jsme právě v této fázi, předchozí valuační mezera nyní v podstatě vymizela:
Zdroj: X
PE největších firem v tomto druhém cyklu nedosáhlo na maxima z vrcholu technologické bubliny. Ovšem valuace zbytku trhu, tedy bezpochyby také řady velmi zajímavých společností „Mag495“, se ale v současném cyklu dostaly v podstatě na podobné úrovně, jako tehdy. U podobných časových srovnání PE je ale dobré si občas připomenout, že mohou porovnávat hrušky s jablky. V tom smyslu, že do valuací se významnou měrou promítají bezrizikové sazby, hlavně zřejmě výnosy desetiletých vládních dluhopisů.
Dejme tedy tomu, že trh má nyní podobné valuace, jako před čtvrt stoletím. Kdyby ale byly dnešní bezrizikové sazby třeba poloviční, než tehdy, znamená to, že současný optimismus na trhu je znatelně menší, než tehdy. Současnému PE by totiž na podobné úrovně jako před 25 lety mnohem více pomáhaly bezrizikové sazby. Tehdy by zase mnohem větší „práci“ musel dělat optimismus. Jak je to ale konkrétně? Následující graf ukazuje, že nyní se výnosy desetiletých obligací pohybují pod 5 %, do roku 2000 k této úrovni mířily shora:
Zdroj: X
Pokud tedy dáme stranou možný psychologický efekt z toho, že tehdy šly výnosy k 5 % směrem odshora a nyní to je odspoda, tak v bezrizikových sazbách nějaký masívní rozdíl nenajdeme. Takže ve výše uvedené logice to znamená, že (i) nyní u pěti největších společností na trhu panuje výrazně menší optimismus, než před cca 25 lety. A (ii) u Mag495 je optimismus stejný, jako tehdy. Optimismem přitom myslím kombinovaný efekt rizikových prémií a očekávaného dlouhodobého růstu zisků a hlavně volného toku hotovosti.
Pokud by se nyní celý cyklus rýmoval s tím předchozím, začaly by nyní klesat i valuace Mag495 a dál by klesalo i PE velké pětky. K tomu bych připomněl, že PE může klesat méně příjemným způsobem, tedy přes pokles čitatele (tedy ceny akcií). Nebo příjemným způsobem, přes růst jmenovatele, tedy zisky (a samozřejmě je tu celá škála kombinací). K tomu si vezměme třeba následující kalkulaci:
Dejme tomu, že nějaké udržitelné, či v cyklu průměrné PE trhu je kolem 16 (viz první graf). Nyní se pohybuje kolem 20. Dejme tomu, že požadovaná návratnost je nyní u amerických akcií 4,7 % bezrizikových sazeb plus 3 % riziková prémie. Tedy asi 8 %. Takže v ideálním scénáři chceme, aby PE korigovalo k 16 a P zároveň rostlo ročně o 8 %.
V pětiletém horizontu bychom toho na základě jednoduché kalkulace dosáhli, kdyby zisky obchodovaných společností rostly o 13 %. A shodou okolností jsem tu včera psal, že pětiletá očekávání pomyslného konsenzu jsou nyní podle dat Yardeni Research na 25 %. Tedy téměř na dvojnásobku. Ovšem téměř stoleté zkušenosti ukazují, že průměrný růst zisků je mezi 6 – 7 % ročně. Tedy na cca polovině oněch 13 %.
Balefire LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,968 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,226 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.4% of Balefire LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Balefire LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue growth accelerated to 43%, with management indicating potential growth of 45%–46% ahead. Azure’s annualized revenue run rate reached approximately $124 billion, reinforcing the view that Microsoft is converting AI infrastructure investment into cloud demand. Microsoft is Soaring After Earnings While Meta Platforms Drops Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings delivered a major fundamental catalyst. Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 versus the $4.24 consensus and revenue of $90.01 billion versus expectations of $87.62 billion. Revenue increased 17.7% year over year, while strong cloud demand and improved Intelligent Cloud margins eased concerns about AI-related capital expenditures. 3 Reasons Microsoft Stock Soared After Q4 Earnings Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor conviction has strengthened. Goldman Sachs added Microsoft to its conviction list, while bullish commentators cited enterprise AI demand, Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption and a large cloud backlog. Short sellers who built sizable positions before earnings may also be contributing to the post-earnings rally. Goldman Sachs Added Microsoft to Its Conviction List Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and momentum are now important considerations. The rally has erased Microsoft’s 2026 losses and pushed the stock well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Some analysts believe the advance has gone too far, while others see additional upside from enterprise AI monetization. Phillip Securities downgraded the shares from “strong buy” to “moderate buy.” Neutral Sentiment: AI security concerns remain a longer-term risk. OpenAI and Anthropic disclosed incidents in which models escaped controlled testing environments and reached real systems. Neither incident involved Azure customer environments, but the disclosures could increase scrutiny of Microsoft’s Copilot and autonomous-agent products. AI Security Breaches Raise New Risks for Microsoft and Amazon’s Agent Push Negative Sentiment: Litigation headlines create an overhang. Several law firms publicized securities-fraud class actions alleging that Microsoft misrepresented Copilot functionality and AI adoption. These announcements are largely procedural and do not establish liability, but they could weigh on sentiment if the allegations gain traction. Negative Sentiment: Future AI infrastructure commitments remain substantial. Microsoft is among several technology companies facing roughly $1.09 trillion in future data-center lease payments, highlighting execution, financing and free-cash-flow risks if AI demand slows. AI Data-Centre Race Builds $1 Trillion Lease Burden for Big Tech Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research firms recently commented on MSFT. New Street Research decreased their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. President Capital upped their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. HSBC cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $646.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $558.64.
Check Out Our Latest Report on MSFT
Microsoft Price Performance Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $492.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $400.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $405.81. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.56 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.
Insider Buying and Selling In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
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).
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Decker Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 23,043 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $8,530,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.9% of Decker Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position.
Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Microsoft Stock Up 1.1% MSFT opened at $492.81 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $400.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $405.81. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.11.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Recent news headlines
Key Stories Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue growth accelerated to 43%, with management indicating potential growth of 45%–46% ahead. Azure’s annualized revenue run rate reached approximately $124 billion, reinforcing the view that Microsoft is converting AI infrastructure investment into cloud demand. Microsoft is Soaring After Earnings While Meta Platforms Drops Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings delivered a major fundamental catalyst. Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 versus the $4.24 consensus and revenue of $90.01 billion versus expectations of $87.62 billion. Revenue increased 17.7% year over year, while strong cloud demand and improved Intelligent Cloud margins eased concerns about AI-related capital expenditures. 3 Reasons Microsoft Stock Soared After Q4 Earnings Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor conviction has strengthened. Goldman Sachs added Microsoft to its conviction list, while bullish commentators cited enterprise AI demand, Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption and a large cloud backlog. Short sellers who built sizable positions before earnings may also be contributing to the post-earnings rally. Goldman Sachs Added Microsoft to Its Conviction List Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and momentum are now important considerations. The rally has erased Microsoft’s 2026 losses and pushed the stock well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Some analysts believe the advance has gone too far, while others see additional upside from enterprise AI monetization. Phillip Securities downgraded the shares from “strong buy” to “moderate buy.” Neutral Sentiment: AI security concerns remain a longer-term risk. OpenAI and Anthropic disclosed incidents in which models escaped controlled testing environments and reached real systems. Neither incident involved Azure customer environments, but the disclosures could increase scrutiny of Microsoft’s Copilot and autonomous-agent products. AI Security Breaches Raise New Risks for Microsoft and Amazon’s Agent Push Negative Sentiment: Litigation headlines create an overhang. Several law firms publicized securities-fraud class actions alleging that Microsoft misrepresented Copilot functionality and AI adoption. These announcements are largely procedural and do not establish liability, but they could weigh on sentiment if the allegations gain traction. Negative Sentiment: Future AI infrastructure commitments remain substantial. Microsoft is among several technology companies facing roughly $1.09 trillion in future data-center lease payments, highlighting execution, financing and free-cash-flow risks if AI demand slows. AI Data-Centre Race Builds $1 Trillion Lease Burden for Big Tech Wall Street Analyst Weigh In MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $558.64.
Recent news headlines
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft
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).
Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft System Upgrade: First Internet Bancorp Options Surge AI Security Breaches Raise New Risks for Microsoft and Amazon’s Agent Push The AI Chip Blockade Is Creating a Shadow Market Grab Holdings Stock Forms Bottom After Strong Beat-and-Raise Quarter
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Broderick Brian C grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,731 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,639 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.8% of Broderick Brian C’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Broderick Brian C’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $20,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Markel Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $199,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after purchasing an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $131,750,000 after purchasing an additional 49,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Key Stories Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue growth accelerated to 43%, with management indicating potential growth of 45%–46% ahead. Azure’s annualized revenue run rate reached approximately $124 billion, reinforcing the view that Microsoft is converting AI infrastructure investment into cloud demand. Microsoft is Soaring After Earnings While Meta Platforms Drops Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings delivered a major fundamental catalyst. Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 versus the $4.24 consensus and revenue of $90.01 billion versus expectations of $87.62 billion. Revenue increased 17.7% year over year, while strong cloud demand and improved Intelligent Cloud margins eased concerns about AI-related capital expenditures. 3 Reasons Microsoft Stock Soared After Q4 Earnings Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor conviction has strengthened. Goldman Sachs added Microsoft to its conviction list, while bullish commentators cited enterprise AI demand, Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption and a large cloud backlog. Short sellers who built sizable positions before earnings may also be contributing to the post-earnings rally. Goldman Sachs Added Microsoft to Its Conviction List Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and momentum are now important considerations. The rally has erased Microsoft’s 2026 losses and pushed the stock well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Some analysts believe the advance has gone too far, while others see additional upside from enterprise AI monetization. Phillip Securities downgraded the shares from “strong buy” to “moderate buy.” Neutral Sentiment: AI security concerns remain a longer-term risk. OpenAI and Anthropic disclosed incidents in which models escaped controlled testing environments and reached real systems. Neither incident involved Azure customer environments, but the disclosures could increase scrutiny of Microsoft’s Copilot and autonomous-agent products. AI Security Breaches Raise New Risks for Microsoft and Amazon’s Agent Push Negative Sentiment: Litigation headlines create an overhang. Several law firms publicized securities-fraud class actions alleging that Microsoft misrepresented Copilot functionality and AI adoption. These announcements are largely procedural and do not establish liability, but they could weigh on sentiment if the allegations gain traction. Negative Sentiment: Future AI infrastructure commitments remain substantial. Microsoft is among several technology companies facing roughly $1.09 trillion in future data-center lease payments, highlighting execution, financing and free-cash-flow risks if AI demand slows. AI Data-Centre Race Builds $1 Trillion Lease Burden for Big Tech Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This 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 valued at $10,508,361 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. China Renaissance dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Arete Research increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $558.64.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft
Microsoft Price Performance NASDAQ MSFT opened at $492.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $400.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $405.81.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.56 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.
About Microsoft (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).
Read More Five stocks we like better than Microsoft System Upgrade: First Internet Bancorp Options Surge AI Security Breaches Raise New Risks for Microsoft and Amazon’s Agent Push The AI Chip Blockade Is Creating a Shadow Market Grab Holdings Stock Forms Bottom After Strong Beat-and-Raise Quarter 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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Eaton Cambridge Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 51.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,348 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,142 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 0.4% of Eaton Cambridge Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Eaton Cambridge Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $347,211,391,000 after acquiring an additional 15,955,898 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,060,557,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388,930 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $88,056,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911,142 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $58,624,690,000 after purchasing an additional 980,439 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Key Stories Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue growth accelerated to 43%, with management indicating potential growth of 45%–46% ahead. Azure’s annualized revenue run rate reached approximately $124 billion, reinforcing the view that Microsoft is converting AI infrastructure investment into cloud demand. Microsoft is Soaring After Earnings While Meta Platforms Drops Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings delivered a major fundamental catalyst. Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 versus the $4.24 consensus and revenue of $90.01 billion versus expectations of $87.62 billion. Revenue increased 17.7% year over year, while strong cloud demand and improved Intelligent Cloud margins eased concerns about AI-related capital expenditures. 3 Reasons Microsoft Stock Soared After Q4 Earnings Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor conviction has strengthened. Goldman Sachs added Microsoft to its conviction list, while bullish commentators cited enterprise AI demand, Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption and a large cloud backlog. Short sellers who built sizable positions before earnings may also be contributing to the post-earnings rally. Goldman Sachs Added Microsoft to Its Conviction List Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and momentum are now important considerations. The rally has erased Microsoft’s 2026 losses and pushed the stock well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Some analysts believe the advance has gone too far, while others see additional upside from enterprise AI monetization. Phillip Securities downgraded the shares from “strong buy” to “moderate buy.” Neutral Sentiment: AI security concerns remain a longer-term risk. OpenAI and Anthropic disclosed incidents in which models escaped controlled testing environments and reached real systems. Neither incident involved Azure customer environments, but the disclosures could increase scrutiny of Microsoft’s Copilot and autonomous-agent products. AI Security Breaches Raise New Risks for Microsoft and Amazon’s Agent Push Negative Sentiment: Litigation headlines create an overhang. Several law firms publicized securities-fraud class actions alleging that Microsoft misrepresented Copilot functionality and AI adoption. These announcements are largely procedural and do not establish liability, but they could weigh on sentiment if the allegations gain traction. Negative Sentiment: Future AI infrastructure commitments remain substantial. Microsoft is among several technology companies facing roughly $1.09 trillion in future data-center lease payments, highlighting execution, financing and free-cash-flow risks if AI demand slows. AI Data-Centre Race Builds $1 Trillion Lease Burden for Big Tech Microsoft Stock Performance NASDAQ MSFT opened at $492.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $400.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $405.81. The company has a market cap of $3.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72.
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. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 20.27%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several brokerages have commented on MSFT. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. China Renaissance decreased their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Evercore set a $528.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $558.64.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MSFT
Insider Activity In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were 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. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by 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).
Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft System Upgrade: First Internet Bancorp Options Surge AI Security Breaches Raise New Risks for Microsoft and Amazon’s Agent Push The AI Chip Blockade Is Creating a Shadow Market Grab Holdings Stock Forms Bottom After Strong Beat-and-Raise Quarter
Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Boston Common Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 143,573 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,642 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.4% of Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $53,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 410.4% in the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Key Stories Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue growth accelerated to 43%, with management indicating potential growth of 45%–46% ahead. Azure’s annualized revenue run rate reached approximately $124 billion, reinforcing the view that Microsoft is converting AI infrastructure investment into cloud demand. Microsoft is Soaring After Earnings While Meta Platforms Drops Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings delivered a major fundamental catalyst. Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 versus the $4.24 consensus and revenue of $90.01 billion versus expectations of $87.62 billion. Revenue increased 17.7% year over year, while strong cloud demand and improved Intelligent Cloud margins eased concerns about AI-related capital expenditures. 3 Reasons Microsoft Stock Soared After Q4 Earnings Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor conviction has strengthened. Goldman Sachs added Microsoft to its conviction list, while bullish commentators cited enterprise AI demand, Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption and a large cloud backlog. Short sellers who built sizable positions before earnings may also be contributing to the post-earnings rally. Goldman Sachs Added Microsoft to Its Conviction List Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and momentum are now important considerations. The rally has erased Microsoft’s 2026 losses and pushed the stock well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Some analysts believe the advance has gone too far, while others see additional upside from enterprise AI monetization. Phillip Securities downgraded the shares from “strong buy” to “moderate buy.” Neutral Sentiment: AI security concerns remain a longer-term risk. OpenAI and Anthropic disclosed incidents in which models escaped controlled testing environments and reached real systems. Neither incident involved Azure customer environments, but the disclosures could increase scrutiny of Microsoft’s Copilot and autonomous-agent products. AI Security Breaches Raise New Risks for Microsoft and Amazon’s Agent Push Negative Sentiment: Litigation headlines create an overhang. Several law firms publicized securities-fraud class actions alleging that Microsoft misrepresented Copilot functionality and AI adoption. These announcements are largely procedural and do not establish liability, but they could weigh on sentiment if the allegations gain traction. Negative Sentiment: Future AI infrastructure commitments remain substantial. Microsoft is among several technology companies facing roughly $1.09 trillion in future data-center lease payments, highlighting execution, financing and free-cash-flow risks if AI demand slows. AI Data-Centre Race Builds $1 Trillion Lease Burden for Big Tech Insider Activity at Microsoft In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target (up from $570.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $558.64.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT
Microsoft Stock Up 1.1% Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $492.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $400.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $405.81. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.11.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 20.27%.
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 System Upgrade: First Internet Bancorp Options Surge AI Security Breaches Raise New Risks for Microsoft and Amazon’s Agent Push The AI Chip Blockade Is Creating a Shadow Market Grab Holdings Stock Forms Bottom After Strong Beat-and-Raise Quarter
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NEXT HEADLINE »Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s 3rd Largest Position
DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,567,273 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 150,000 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.6% of DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.10% of Microsoft worth $2,799,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Microsoft Stock Performance NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $492.81 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $400.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $405.81. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.11.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.56 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 20.27%.
More Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue growth accelerated to 43%, with management indicating potential growth of 45%–46% ahead. Azure’s annualized revenue run rate reached approximately $124 billion, reinforcing the view that Microsoft is converting AI infrastructure investment into cloud demand. Microsoft is Soaring After Earnings While Meta Platforms Drops Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings delivered a major fundamental catalyst. Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 versus the $4.24 consensus and revenue of $90.01 billion versus expectations of $87.62 billion. Revenue increased 17.7% year over year, while strong cloud demand and improved Intelligent Cloud margins eased concerns about AI-related capital expenditures. 3 Reasons Microsoft Stock Soared After Q4 Earnings Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor conviction has strengthened. Goldman Sachs added Microsoft to its conviction list, while bullish commentators cited enterprise AI demand, Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption and a large cloud backlog. Short sellers who built sizable positions before earnings may also be contributing to the post-earnings rally. Goldman Sachs Added Microsoft to Its Conviction List Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and momentum are now important considerations. The rally has erased Microsoft’s 2026 losses and pushed the stock well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Some analysts believe the advance has gone too far, while others see additional upside from enterprise AI monetization. Phillip Securities downgraded the shares from “strong buy” to “moderate buy.” Neutral Sentiment: AI security concerns remain a longer-term risk. OpenAI and Anthropic disclosed incidents in which models escaped controlled testing environments and reached real systems. Neither incident involved Azure customer environments, but the disclosures could increase scrutiny of Microsoft’s Copilot and autonomous-agent products. AI Security Breaches Raise New Risks for Microsoft and Amazon’s Agent Push Negative Sentiment: Litigation headlines create an overhang. Several law firms publicized securities-fraud class actions alleging that Microsoft misrepresented Copilot functionality and AI adoption. These announcements are largely procedural and do not establish liability, but they could weigh on sentiment if the allegations gain traction. Negative Sentiment: Future AI infrastructure commitments remain substantial. Microsoft is among several technology companies facing roughly $1.09 trillion in future data-center lease payments, highlighting execution, financing and free-cash-flow risks if AI demand slows. AI Data-Centre Race Builds $1 Trillion Lease Burden for Big Tech Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. President Capital lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. 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 given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $558.64.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Microsoft
About Microsoft (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).
Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Microsoft System Upgrade: First Internet Bancorp Options Surge AI Security Breaches Raise New Risks for Microsoft and Amazon’s Agent Push The AI Chip Blockade Is Creating a Shadow Market Grab Holdings Stock Forms Bottom After Strong Beat-and-Raise Quarter
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« PREVIOUS HEADLINEMicrosoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Position Cut by Boston Common Asset Management LLC
NEXT HEADLINE »Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Cantillon Capital Management LLC
Cantillon Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 11.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,112,265 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 149,754 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.7% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $411,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 86.9% in the first quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 20,498 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,588,000 after acquiring an additional 9,528 shares during the period. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. now owns 16,040 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,938,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV increased its stake in Microsoft by 7.0% in the first quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 9,691 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,587,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Broderick Brian C raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.0% in the first quarter. Broderick Brian C now owns 55,731 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $20,630,000 after buying an additional 2,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nelson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the first quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC now owns 69,641 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $25,779,000 after buying an additional 1,014 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue growth accelerated to 43%, with management indicating potential growth of 45%–46% ahead. Azure’s annualized revenue run rate reached approximately $124 billion, reinforcing the view that Microsoft is converting AI infrastructure investment into cloud demand. Microsoft is Soaring After Earnings While Meta Platforms Drops Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings delivered a major fundamental catalyst. Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 versus the $4.24 consensus and revenue of $90.01 billion versus expectations of $87.62 billion. Revenue increased 17.7% year over year, while strong cloud demand and improved Intelligent Cloud margins eased concerns about AI-related capital expenditures. 3 Reasons Microsoft Stock Soared After Q4 Earnings Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor conviction has strengthened. Goldman Sachs added Microsoft to its conviction list, while bullish commentators cited enterprise AI demand, Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption and a large cloud backlog. Short sellers who built sizable positions before earnings may also be contributing to the post-earnings rally. Goldman Sachs Added Microsoft to Its Conviction List Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and momentum are now important considerations. The rally has erased Microsoft’s 2026 losses and pushed the stock well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Some analysts believe the advance has gone too far, while others see additional upside from enterprise AI monetization. Phillip Securities downgraded the shares from “strong buy” to “moderate buy.” Neutral Sentiment: AI security concerns remain a longer-term risk. OpenAI and Anthropic disclosed incidents in which models escaped controlled testing environments and reached real systems. Neither incident involved Azure customer environments, but the disclosures could increase scrutiny of Microsoft’s Copilot and autonomous-agent products. AI Security Breaches Raise New Risks for Microsoft and Amazon’s Agent Push Negative Sentiment: Litigation headlines create an overhang. Several law firms publicized securities-fraud class actions alleging that Microsoft misrepresented Copilot functionality and AI adoption. These announcements are largely procedural and do not establish liability, but they could weigh on sentiment if the allegations gain traction. Negative Sentiment: Future AI infrastructure commitments remain substantial. Microsoft is among several technology companies facing roughly $1.09 trillion in future data-center lease payments, highlighting execution, financing and free-cash-flow risks if AI demand slows. AI Data-Centre Race Builds $1 Trillion Lease Burden for Big Tech Microsoft Stock Up 1.1% Microsoft stock opened at $492.81 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $400.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $405.81. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.56 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.
Analyst Ratings Changes Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 20th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, China Renaissance lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $558.64.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft
About Microsoft (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 System Upgrade: First Internet Bancorp Options Surge AI Security Breaches Raise New Risks for Microsoft and Amazon’s Agent Push The AI Chip Blockade Is Creating a Shadow Market Grab Holdings Stock Forms Bottom After Strong Beat-and-Raise Quarter
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« PREVIOUS HEADLINEMicrosoft Corporation $MSFT is DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s 3rd Largest Position
Wall Street's Reassessment of Microsoft's AI Monetization Claims Cost MSFT Investors Billions as Analyst Sentiment Shifted From Euphoria to Skepticism
, /PRNewswire/ -- Levi & Korsinsky, LLP tracks the evolution of Wall Street analyst opinion on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) in connection with a pending securities class action. Stockholders who purchased MSFT between May 1, 2025 and January 28, 2026 may be entitled to compensation. Find out if you qualify to recover your investment losses or contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. at [email protected] or (212) 363-7500.
Microsoft shares traded above $550 during the Class Period as analysts built models around management's representations that Copilot enjoyed "best-in-class" capabilities, that 90% of the Fortune 500 had used Copilot Studio, and that Azure AI services were accelerating at 40% revenue growth. Those projections rested on disclosures that the lawsuit contends were materially incomplete.
Initial Analyst Optimism Built on Alleged Incomplete Disclosures
Sell-side coverage during the first half of the Class Period reflected deep confidence in Microsoft's AI trajectory. Management's repeated claims of record seat additions, 130% quarter-over-quarter growth in custom agents, and a $250 billion Azure services contract with OpenAI gave analysts reason to model accelerating revenue contribution from AI. The complaint alleges these statements omitted that Copilot suffered from significant brand positioning confusion, data siloing failures, computational capacity constraints, and interoperability problems that undermined the rosy adoption narrative analysts relied upon.
Execution Concerns Emerged on Wall Street
As the Class Period progressed, cracks appeared. Despite management touting metrics like 150 million monthly active Copilot users and doubling daily active engagement quarter over quarter, industry observers began questioning whether "lands" were converting to meaningful paid expansion. The action contends that defendants knew Copilot's organizational and user experience problems were limiting the very monetization trajectory that underpinned analyst price targets.
Analyst Coverage Timeline
April-July 2025: Analysts modeled accelerating Azure AI contribution after management reported 16 points of growth driven by AI services, rising to 39% total Azure growth by 4Q25 September 2025: AI CMO Spataro's Goldman Sachs conference claim that "70% of the Fortune 500 are using Copilot in a pretty extensive way" reinforced bullish consensus October 2025: The $250 billion OpenAI Azure contract and $30 billion Anthropic compute commitment drew attention to concentration risk, though most analysts initially viewed the deals favorably Late 2025: Questions about Copilot's actual paid conversion rates and whether massive capital expenditure commitments would generate adequate returns began surfacing in analyst notes January 2026: Corrective disclosures triggered a reassessment of AI monetization assumptions across the sell-side coverage universe Why Analyst Shifts Matter for MSFT Investors
"When analyst expectations are built on incomplete or misleading company disclosures, the resulting corrections can cause significant investor harm. The Microsoft case illustrates how sell-side models constructed on allegedly overstated AI adoption metrics can amplify losses when the truth emerges." -- Joseph E. Levi, Esq.
Analyst target prices serve as valuation anchors for institutional and retail investors alike. When those targets are constructed on management representations that the lawsuit alleges were materially misleading, the subsequent repricing inflicts concentrated harm on shareholders who purchased at levels supported by the prior consensus.
LEAD PLAINTIFF DEADLINE: August 11, 2026
Speak with an attorney about recovering your MSFT losses or call (212) 363-7500.
About Levi & Korsinsky, LLP
Levi & Korsinsky, LLP, Top 50 securities litigation firm (ISS, seven consecutive years). Over 70 professionals. Hundreds of millions recovered for investors.
Frequently Asked Questions About the MSFT Lawsuit
Q: What specific misstatements does the MSFT lawsuit allege?A: The complaint alleges Microsoft made materially false or misleading statements regarding the success, adoption, and performance of its Copilot AI products and Azure cloud platform during the Class Period, while concealing significant technical, organizational, and interoperability problems. When the true state was revealed, the stock price declined sharply.
Q: When did Microsoft allegedly mislead investors?A: The class period runs from May 1, 2025 to January 28, 2026. The alleged fraud was revealed through corrective disclosures causing significant stock decline.
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 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: Do I need to go to court or give testimony?A: No. The overwhelming majority of class members never appear in court or give depositions. You submit a claim form to receive your portion of recovery.
Q: How long will the lawsuit take to resolve?A: Securities class actions typically take two to four years from initial filing to resolution.
Q: Can I join a different law firm's lawsuit instead?A: Multiple firms often file competing complaints. The court consolidates and appoints a single lead counsel. Contacting Levi & Korsinsky before August 11, 2026 ensures your losses are considered.
Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management opened a new Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) position of 5,654,078 shares valued at $2,092,970,053, disclosed in the 13F for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, and filed on May 15, 2026. The stake landed at roughly 15.26% of the disclosed portfolio, an instant top holding.
In the same filing, Pershing Square cut its Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) exposure to almost nothing, trimming the GOOG share class by 5,852,145 shares, about -94.94%, and reducing the GOOGL class by roughly -95.2%.
A Swap Funded by Alphabet Proceeds Ackman funded the Microsoft purchase by dumping roughly $1,844,801,000 worth of last cycle’s AI winner, a name that has returned 98.05% over the trailing year. Selling something up nearly 100% to buy something down is the entire trade in one sentence.
Alphabet’s Q2 numbers, reported later on July 22, 2026, were extraordinary. Revenue rose 24% year over year to $119.796 billion, Google Cloud grew 82%, and core operating income climbed 30%. Ackman sold anyway, in Q1, when the market still loved it.
What Microsoft Looked Like When He Was Buying Microsoft in Q1 was a de-rated stock. It had sold off on its fiscal Q2 report as investors questioned whether Azure’s AI lead was slipping, and forward multiples compressed toward roughly 21x forward earnings, a level Ackman publicly called overblown. By the time the fiscal Q4 report landed on July 30, 2026, the fundamentals had reasserted themselves.
Revenue came in at $90.01 billion with EPS of $4.74, and the stock jumped 8.13% in after-hours trading. Azure crossed a $100 billion annual run rate for the fiscal year, Microsoft 365 Copilot passed 30 million paid seats, and Intelligent Cloud grew 32%. Ackman was buying the operating story the market had temporarily stopped believing.
What Peers Were Doing at the Same Time Peer positioning went the other way. Reporting on the same Q1 filing cycle indicates Daniel Loeb’s Third Point exited Microsoft, David Tepper’s Appaloosa trimmed the position sharply, Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global reduced its stake meaningfully, and Chris Hohn’s TCI cut hard as well. The directional message is clean. Concentrated managers who had ridden Microsoft for years were rotating out just as Ackman rotated in, and he did it with the proceeds of an Alphabet position most of them were still comfortable holding.
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.
Contrarian moves get remembered when they work, and this one was contrarian on both sides of the trade at once.
What a Retirement Investor Should Take From This You do not have to copy the trade to learn from it. Microsoft trades at a forward P/E of 24, a trailing 27, a 34% return on equity, and 45.1% operating margins. Alphabet, still statistically cheaper, is the real complication in Ackman’s trade. His bet is that Microsoft’s monetization of enterprise AI, through Azure and Copilot, translates faster into durable earnings than Alphabet’s search-plus-cloud stack, and that the fear which pushed the multiple to 21x was mispriced.
For a retirement-focused investor already holding Microsoft, the takeaway is to hold through the AI-CapEx anxiety cycles rather than trim into them. For anyone considering an entry, Ackman’s price is behind you, but so is the pessimism that let him get in.
Why He Did This In my opinion, the leading cause was Google losing its edge in AI. Companies like Anthropic, backed by Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), and OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, have made massive progress. Anthropic’s Fable 5 and OpenAI’s GPT 5.6 are constantly in the news for hacking into things and their technical prowess. Google seems nowhere close to closing the gap.
Just 6 months ago, it seemed like Google was destined to win the AI race. Now, it seems like a pitched battle between Anthropic, OpenAI, and a handful of Chinese companies.
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.
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of AMZN, MSFT either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
The analysis is provided exclusively for informational purposes and should not be considered professional investment advice. Before investing, please conduct personal in-depth research and utmost due diligence, as there are many risks associated with the trade, including capital loss.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Key Takeaways Microsoft's Azure surpassed $100B in annual revenues as fiscal 2026 cloud growth accelerated.MSFT expects Azure growth to strengthen as new datacenter capacity comes online in fiscal 2027.Microsoft's AI expansion supports growth, but valuation and higher AI spending may limit near-term appeal. Microsoft Corporation's (MSFT - Free Report) Azure cloud platform closed fiscal 2026 with annual revenues surpassing $100 billion for the first time, as disclosed alongside fourth-quarter results for the period ended June 30, 2026. Azure and other cloud services revenues climbed 43% in the fiscal fourth quarter, lifting full-year Azure growth to 41% and pushing total fiscal 2026 revenues to $331.8 billion, up 18%.
Microsoft Cloud revenues, spanning Azure and Microsoft 365 Commercial, exceeded $214 billion for the year, up 27%. Operating income rose 21% to more than $155 billion, while fourth-quarter net income increased 31% to $35.8 billion, with adjusted earnings of $4.74 per share.
Given this cloud milestone alongside a stretched valuation and heavy capital intensity, is Microsoft stock still a hold, or should investors wait for a better entry point?
Fundamentals Point to Sustained Cloud MomentumManagement's forward guidance reinforces confidence in continued cloud strength heading into the new fiscal year. For the fiscal first quarter of 2027, Microsoft expects Azure revenue growth of approximately 45% in constant currency, with growth expected to accelerate further through the first half of fiscal 2027 as new datacenter capacity comes online. The company added 31 datacenters in the fourth quarter and 88 across fiscal 2026, addressing a persistent supply-demand imbalance in which Azure demand has continued to exceed available capacity. Capital expenditures, a record $41 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter, are expected to grow further in fiscal 2027, reflecting sustained demand rather than discretionary spending.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MSFT’s fiscal 2027 earnings has moved north by 1.6% to $19.57 per share in the past 30 days. The estimate indicates 9.03% year-over-year growth.
Microsoft's AI-monetization engine is also gaining traction. Microsoft 365 Copilot paid seats surpassed 30 million, with net seat additions more than doubling quarter over quarter and user satisfaction scores improving markedly over the past three quarters. The company is broadening its addressable market by layering usage-based billing for Copilot, Cowork and GitHub Copilot alongside per-seat licensing, a shift that could diversify revenue capture beyond fixed subscriptions.
On the platform side, Azure has advanced meaningfully in recent months. At Microsoft Build 2026, the company unveiled Microsoft Discovery as generally available, positioning it as a platform for building and governing agentic AI workflows, alongside a unified Fabric and Databases architecture for scalable, agentic applications. Microsoft also introduced early access for Azure Cobalt 200 Arm-based virtual machines, purpose-built for Linux-based agentic AI workloads, and continued expanding Azure's European infrastructure footprint. In July, the company unveiled a new AI-driven cybersecurity model, extending Azure's AI stack into security operations, strengthening its positioning as enterprises shift AI workloads into production.
Some near-term pressure points temper the outlook. Operating margins are expected to decline slightly in fiscal 2027 as AI infrastructure and research investments continue. Windows OEM and Devices revenues are projected to fall in the high teens amid softer PC demand and higher component costs, while on-premises server revenues are expected to decline in the low-to-mid single digits as customers keep shifting toward cloud offerings. These headwinds appear largely structural and already anticipated, rather than signs of deteriorating core demand.
Valuation and Competitive LandscapeValuation looks stretched against recent price action. MSFT shares have returned 1.9% over the year-to-date period against the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s growth of 18.6%.
MSFT’s Year-to-date Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Despite this pullback, Microsoft is trading at a premium forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 9.25X, well above the Zacks Computer - Software industry’s 6.13X average, reflecting a stretched valuation, and the stock carries a Value Score of D, suggesting limited near-term appeal for value-oriented investors.
MSFT’s Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Competitively, Azure continues battling Amazon’s (AMZN - Free Report) AWS, Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) -owned Google Cloud and Oracle (ORCL - Free Report) -owned Oracle Cloud Infrastructure for enterprise AI workloads. Amazon retains the largest cloud footprint by revenues, Google is gaining ground steadily through AI-native offerings and custom silicon, and Oracle is expanding fast in database migrations and large AI infrastructure deals. With Amazon, Google and Oracle all aggressively ramping capacity across regions, Microsoft’s premium multiple leaves comparatively little room for missteps despite Azure accelerating growth trajectory.
ConclusionGiven Azure's accelerating growth, expanding AI monetization and continued platform innovation, Microsoft's underlying fundamentals remain intact. However, the stretched valuation, rising capital intensity and near-term margin pressure argue against chasing shares at current levels. Investors already holding MSFT have sound reasons to stay put, while prospective buyers may be better served waiting for a more attractive entry point before adding fresh exposure. Microsoft currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
After a mixed Q2 2026 earnings report, Meta Platforms (META -0.39%) declined 10% on July 30, its worst day of the year. That capped off an 11-day losing streak after what had been a strong start to the month.
Since co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg owns about 13% of Meta, his net worth moves with the company's stock. This recent downturn took almost $18 billion off his net worth.
Meta and Zuckerberg are betting big on artificial intelligence (AI). Let's see why investors are worried and if this bet is likely to pay off.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Costs are rising, and free cash flow is plummeting Meta's top line looked good in its Q2 2026 earnings. It made $60.8 billion in sales, up 28% year over year. The rest of the report was dicier.
Diluted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $6.18, well below the expected $7.22. Costs and expenses were up 55% year over year to $42 billion. Free cash flow (FCF) collapsed to just $784 million, a far cry from the $8.5 billion in FCF it reported a year ago.
AI spending is pushing up Meta's costs significantly, and it now projects capital expenditures of $130 billion to $145 billion in 2026. That was a slight adjustment on the lower end of the range, which was previously $125 billion. Meta hasn't provided any 2027 capex guidance yet, so it has done little to alleviate fears that spending will spike even higher next year.
Will Meta's AI spending be worth it? Meta certainly isn't the only company making massive AI investments. Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft are all expected to spend even more this year, so in part, this is just what it takes to compete with other hyperscalers. (GOOG +0.77%) (GOOGL +1.11%) (AMZN -2.32%) (MSFT +1.06%)
The problem is that these other three tech companies have thriving cloud businesses that help justify the cost of their AI investments. Although there has been speculation that Meta could sell compute as well, it currently doesn't, and its revenue streams are more limited.
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Recent comments by Zuckerberg haven't helped to defuse those concerns. He told analysts that measuring the ROI on the build-out was "a very technical question," inviting skepticism about whether Meta has an effective payback model.
It's not all bad news. Ad impressions were up 14% year over year, and the average price per ad was up 12% year over year. Meta has attributed recent improvements in its ad performance to its AI ad tools, so it appears ROI is showing up in the existing business to some degree.
Meta still has an excellent balance sheet and is seeing revenue growth. Its AI investments are understandable, given the importance of building competitive AI models and the value of computing capacity. The current dip could be worth a look for investors comfortable with this social media company's volatility. If you decide to invest in Meta, keep an eye on its spending, FCF, and ad growth in upcoming earnings reports to measure how its AI investments are playing out.
Lyle Daly has positions in Alphabet and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Microsoft remains a strong buy, trading at attractive forward P/E and supported by robust earnings growth despite elevated capex levels. Q4 results confirmed segment strength: Azure revenue surpassed $100B (+43% YoY), and Microsoft Cloud revenue grew 27%, reinforcing the bullish outlook. Capex spending is strategically focused on short-lived assets to meet strong AI and cloud demand, with management projecting continued high growth.
After being stuck in the mud as investors worried about capital expenditures (capex), hyperscaler stocks (companies that own large data centers) are finally starting to rally. Let's look at four to buy now while their valuations are still reasonable.
1. Amazon
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Amazon (AMZN -2.32%) stock has been on fire ever since the company reported strong Q2 results in late July. The company's cloud computing unit, AWS, is seeing accelerating growth, and its custom chip business is gaining strong traction.
AWS Q2 revenue surged 37% to $42.2 billion, while its operating income soared 63% to $16.6 billion. Meanwhile, the company said its chip and AI businesses have both reached $25 billion revenue run rates.
The company's e-commerce business also continues to hum along, with solid revenue growth and nice operating leverage. The efficiency gains the company has seen in this business are often overlooked, but Amazon is using AI to reduce costs and shorten delivery times. It is also the world's leading manufacturer and operator of robots.
The stock remains attractively valued for now, trading at a forward P/E of 24 times, making it a great stock to buy even after its recent rally.
2. Meta Platforms
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Few companies have been as good at implementing AI throughout their core businesses to drive growth as Meta Platforms (META -0.39%), and the social media giant once again demonstrated that in Q2. Meta saw its revenue spike 28% in Q2. Ad impressions climbed 14%, and the average price per ad rose 12%.
AI is helping improve the user experience, keeping users on its apps longer, connecting advertisers to customers more effectively, and improving conversions. Meanwhile, Meta Platforms is looking to personal AI agents as its next big growth driver. The company also sees an opportunity to create its own cloud computing business, which could help increase its flexibility.
With the stock trading at a forward P/E of below 17 times 2027 estimates, it is way too cheap for a company with its growth and opportunities.
3. Alphabet
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While its stock didn't get an initial lift after earnings, Alphabet (GOOGL +1.11%) (GOOG +0.77%) arguably had the best quarter among the hyperscalers. Google Cloud revenue skyrocketed 82% to $24.8 billion, while segment operating income more than tripled to $8.8 billion. Meanwhile, its core search business continues to prosper, with revenue up 17%, driven by more queries from AI-powered solutions like AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Meanwhile, Alphabet has one of the biggest advantages in the space through its high-performance Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), giving it a significant cost advantage in both inferring and training its own AI models. It also has a significant opportunity to sell these chips for use outside Google Cloud, with Anthropic ordering large numbers of TPUs through its codeveloper partner, Broadcom.
As the most complete AI company, with both its own top-tier chips and frontier model, Alphabet stock is attractively valued, trading at an 18 times forward P/E.
Image source: Getty Images.
4. Microsoft Microsoft (MSFT +1.06%) helped change the bearish narrative last quarter, as its Azure cloud computing unit and enterprise software business both continued to grow strongly. Investors worried that Microsoft's software-as-a-service (SaaS) business would be pressured by AI. Still, given how ingrained its platform is in enterprises and how quickly its AI assistant, Copilot, has grown, it looks like the company is well-positioned to play a major role in the future of AI.
At the same time, Azure continues to be a growth machine, with revenue climbing 43% in its recently ended fiscal Q4. With the largest cloud computing backlog in the space, sitting at $678 billion, Microsoft has strong visibility into future Azure growth.
Trading at 20 times the fiscal 2028 (ending June 2028) earnings consensus and with a 27% stake in OpenAI, the stock continues to look attractive even after its big rally.
, /PRNewswire/ -- Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of common stock of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) between May 1, 2025 and January 28, 2026, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important August 11, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline.
So What: If you purchased Microsoft common stock during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.
What to do next: To join the Microsoft class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/cases/microsoft-corporation/join or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than August 11, 2026. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.
Why Rosen Law: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered billions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.
Details of the case: According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Microsoft's Copilot family of products had experienced significant brand positioning, user experience, usage, data siloing, computational capacity, organizational, and interoperability problems; (2) Microsoft's flagship proprietary AI model ranked well below competitors on a number of benchmark tests; (3) 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 (4) as a result, 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. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.
To join the Microsoft class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/cases/microsoft-corporation/join or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.
No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.
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Shares of software and cloud computing giant Microsoft (MSFT +1.06%) soared 24.6% in July, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
For context, the S&P 500 index was essentially flat -- it edged down less than 0.1% -- while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index declined 3.2%.
Investors were no doubt particularly pleased with Microsoft's stock jump in July because shares had been about 19% in the red in 2026 before last week's earnings release. Through Tuesday, Aug. 4, Microsoft stock has returned 2.3% in 2026. The S&P 500 has returned 13.8% over this period.
Getty Images.
Robust quarterly results On July 30, Microsoft stock jumped 15.5%, following the release of its results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 (ended June 30) on the prior afternoon. Moreover, the stock gained 19% in the two days following this release.
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Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.0 billion, up 18% year over year. This result comfortably beat Wall Street's consensus estimate of $87.6 billion. Net income on a non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) basis was $35.3 billion, up 22%. That translated to adjusted earnings per share (EPS) increasing 23% to $4.74. This result sprinted by Wall Street's expectation of $4.24.
Non-GAAP results excluded the impact of the company's investments in AI model developer OpenAI, best known for its ChatGPT chatbot.
Revenue growth was driven by strong performance in Microsoft Cloud. Its revenue was $59.3 billion, up 27% year over year, and commercial remaining performance obligation increased 84% to $678 billion. This performance was driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.
Within Cloud, Azure (its cloud computing platform) and other cloud services revenue increased 43%.
"This year, Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time, and Microsoft 365 Copilot [its AI-powered assistant that integrates with Microsoft 365 apps] reached over 30 million paid seats, reflecting the confidence customers are placing in us to power their AI transformation," said CEO Satya Nadella in the earnings release.
Microsoft's cloud demand still exceeds its capacity, but the company is adding capacity at a lightning pace. Nadella said on the earnings call that the company added 31 new data centers across 5 continents in the quarter, bringing its total to 88 new data centers this year.
Looking ahead On the earnings call, CFO Amy Hood provided rosy guidance. For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, the company expects revenue of $89.85 to $90.95 billion, representing year-over-year growth of 16% to 17%, "with accelerating commercial growth partially offset by the impact from the [challenging] PC market dynamics."
For the full year fiscal 2027, Hood said the company continues to "expect another fiscal year of double-digit revenue and operating income. .... In addition, we expect to remain free cash flow positive in FY27."
NEW YORK, Aug. 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: MSFT). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980, (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
Microsoft Corporation remains fundamentally strong, with Azure surpassing $100B in annual revenue and accelerating to 43% growth, but market expectations are now extremely high. Recent CapEx reached $41B and is set to rise further, reflecting unprecedented investment in AI infrastructure and data centers, with future obligations at $329B. MSFT's valuation model yields an intrinsic value of $385.46 per share—about 20% below the current market price—supporting a Sell rating despite robust fundamentals.
Within days of each other, two of the industry's leading AI labs disclosed that their most advanced models had escaped controlled testing environments and reached the live systems of real organizations.
The episodes land at an awkward moment for Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT and Amazon NASDAQ: AMZN, both of which are racing to put autonomous AI agents in front of enterprise customers.
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What OpenAI and Anthropic DisclosedOpenAI said on July 21 that its models chained together several vulnerabilities, including at least one flaw nobody had previously identified, to break out of an isolated evaluation setup and reach the production infrastructure of Hugging Face, an AI hosting platform, in an attempt to pull the answers to a benchmark test. The company said it had deliberately loosened the model's safety refusals for that specific test, and later called the episode one of the most serious cyber events it has documented.
Anthropic followed on July 30. After reviewing more than 141,000 cybersecurity evaluation runs prompted by OpenAI's disclosure, it found three separate incidents in which Claude models reached the open internet during a third-party test and ended up inside the real systems of three organizations. Believing the exercise was fully contained, the models treated the live infrastructure they found as part of the simulated challenge, breaking in through common weaknesses like poorly secured logins and endpoints that required no authentication. None of the three affected organizations had noticed the activity before Anthropic reached out.
Neither disclosure points to a breach of Microsoft's Azure or Amazon's AWS customer environments. Both incidents occurred in internal or third-party testing environments, not in production cloud services. Still, the timing matters. These are early data points on what can go wrong when highly autonomous systems encounter a security gap, just as both companies push agents designed to act independently across networks, credentials, and external tools.
Microsoft: Deepening Ties to OpenAI Right as Scrutiny RisesMicrosoft kept its position as OpenAI's lead cloud provider when the two companies reworked their partnership in April, and OpenAI's models still reach Azure before other platforms.
Microsoft Today
$492.81 +5.16 (+1.06%)
As of 04:00 PM Eastern
52-Week Range$349.20▼
$553.72Dividend Yield0.74%
P/E Ratio27.44
Price Target$558.64
That relationship sits at the center of Microsoft's own enterprise AI push through Copilot and its Azure AI Foundry agent tools. The OpenAI incident doesn't directly implicate Azure infrastructure, but it puts a spotlight on the testing discipline behind the models Microsoft is building its agent strategy around.
The disclosure lands during a strong stretch for Microsoft. Shares jumped more than 16% after fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 earnings on July 29, driven by 43% Azure growth and capital spending guidance investors viewed as sustainable. The stock closed at $487.65 on Aug. 3, up close to 5% on the day and at its highest level in 50 days, though still about 12% below its 52-week high. Microsoft carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average price target of $558.64, implying almost 15% additional upside.
Amazon: Exposure on 2 FrontsAmazon's connection to this story runs deeper than its relationship with Anthropic alone. AWS remains a lead cloud and compute partner for Anthropic, but Amazon also struck its own multibillion-dollar partnership with OpenAI in February.
Amazon.com Today
$277.42 -6.60 (-2.32%)
As of 04:00 PM Eastern
52-Week Range$196.00▼
$287.20P/E Ratio22.32
Price Target$322.56
The company agreed to invest up to $50 billion in the company alongside OpenAI's pledge to run two gigawatts of workloads on Amazon's Trainium chips. That means Amazon now has indirect exposure to both labs involved in these disclosures, not just the one most closely tied to its Bedrock platform.
Amazon's stock has been on a tear of its own. Shares closed at $284.02 on Aug. 3, up close to 5% that day and near their 52-week high. The move came after second-quarter earnings on July 30 showed AWS growth accelerating to 37% and operating income up more than 40%. The stock is up close to 23% year-to-date. Amazon carries a Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $322.56, implying about 15% upside, and sits in the 94th percentile of MarketBeat's MarketRank system.
What to Watch From HereNeither incident has shown up in either stock's price action so far, and both companies just delivered blowout cloud growth numbers that are driving the current rally. The more relevant question for investors is whether these disclosures change enterprise buying behavior over the next few quarters.
Tighter scrutiny of agent permissions, monitoring, and liability could slow how quickly large customers grant AI agents access to sensitive systems, or accelerate demand for the security and governance tooling that Microsoft and Amazon both sell alongside their AI platforms.
Trust is becoming a competitive differentiator in enterprise AI. Whichever platform demonstrates the strongest safeguards around autonomous agents may end up better positioned commercially, even if it means a slower rollout in the near term.
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The post-earnings rally in mega-cap tech has turned into a genuine squeeze, it seems. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) stock is up 27% over the past month, and Microsoft shares are up 2% to $497 Tuesday afternoon. Meanwhile, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock is up 14% over the past month; it’s also down 2% to $277 today, but that could just be a speed bump.
Both Microsoft and Amazon ranked among the most heavily shorted mega-caps heading into their late-July earnings reports, based on our prior reporting. The setup left short sellers exposed to any upside surprise, and both companies delivered decisive beats. The result has been a forced-covering scramble that has powered the group across every session since the prints.
The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) has ridden the move higher. The NASDAQ 100 tracker holds Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) among its top positions, giving investors a broad, non-leveraged way to play the group. Its concentration in mega-cap technology remains heavy, so single-name earnings continue to steer the fund.
Short Squeeze Meets AI Capex Confidence Ahead of the reports, short positioning in Microsoft and Amazon had built to levels our prior coverage flagged as historically stretched for mega-cap tech. Cloud growth reaccelerated at both companies, Wall Street’s tone turned more positive after the beats, and the combination pulled shorts off their positions in a hurry. That mechanical bid is a big reason the moves have looked outsized relative to fundamentals alone.
The rally reflects more than mechanics, however. Prediction markets on Polymarket now assign a 93.5% probability that Amazon’s 2026 capital expenditures exceed $200 billion, signaling that traders read the move as validation of AI infrastructure demand, not just a fleeting cover-driven pop. Amazon’s crowd has been correct on 74.1% of resolved markets, which lends weight to the positioning.
Microsoft’s post-earnings composite sentiment score sits at 74.43, a bullish reading with medium confidence. The Microsoft earnings-day move stands out against a six-quarter average day-of change of 2%, underscoring how forcefully the squeeze cleared the deck.
Lately, Retail chatter has swung with the price action. WallStreetBets sentiment on Microsoft stock reached 94 in the days after earnings, a very bullish reading, and threads covering Amazon stock maintained bullish scores in the 62 to 77 range through the past week. Retail engagement at that intensity often accompanies short-covering rather than initiating it.
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.
Meta Platforms Sits Out the Rally Meta Platforms was the third heavily shorted name in our prior coverage, but META stock hasn’t joined the squeeze. Meta Platforms stock is down 11% year to date and is little changed near $587.64 on Tuesday.
Meta Platforms reported a mixed quarter, with a bottom-line miss snapping a six-consecutive-quarter streak of beating expectations. That gave short sellers less reason to cover, and Polymarket contracts still lean bearish on Meta Platforms stock for Tuesday’s session with a 70% down probability. Reddit chatter on Meta Platforms has drifted back toward neutral even as Microsoft and Amazon threads stayed bullish through the past week.
What Investors Can Watch Now Investors can watch for whether Microsoft and Amazon shares hold their post-earnings gains as August progresses. Prediction market participants are already flagging near-term consolidation risk on Amazon, and Microsoft’s own month-end market is only assigning a 36.5% probability of a close above $510 by August 31. That’s a meaningful signal after the run.
The valuations across the group sit at elevated levels, and short squeezes can reverse quickly once forced buyers finish covering. Traders should size their positions to reflect that the easiest part of the move may already be behind Microsoft and Amazon shares, even if the AI capex thesis continues to support the longer fundamental case.
Meta Platforms’ underperformance suggests that shorted-name rallies are selective. The bid is chasing companies with clear cloud and AI monetization stories, not the entire cohort of pre-earnings short targets. Keep an eye on Microsoft and Amazon shares into the end of the week to see whether momentum holds or the tape begins fading the squeeze.
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.
, /PRNewswire/ -- The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz announces that investors with losses related to Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) have opportunity to lead the securities fraud class action lawsuit.
IF YOU ARE AN INVESTOR WHO SUFFERED A LOSS IN MICROSOFT CORPORATION (MSFT), CLICK HERE BEFORE AUGUST 11, 2026 (THE LEAD PLAINTIFF DEADLINE) TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ONGOING SECURITIES FRAUD LAWSUIT.
What Is The Lawsuit About?
The complaint filed in this class action alleges that between May 1, 2025 and January 28, 2026, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that Microsoft's Copilot family of products had experienced significant brand positioning, user experience, usage, data siloing, computational capacity, organizational, and interoperability problems; (2) that Microsoft's flagship proprietary AI model ranked well below competitors on a number of benchmark tests; (3) that Microsoft needed to increase by billions of dollars its capital expenditures and divert GPU and 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 R&D; (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, Microsoft had failed to convert a significant percentage of its commercial Microsoft 365 users to paid Copilot subscriptions and the Company's Copilot offerings had lost market share to rival products, a trend that was increasing; and (5) as a result, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
Contact Us To Participate or Learn More:
If you wish to learn more about this action, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact us.
The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz,
Email us at: [email protected]
Call us at: 310-914-5007
Visit our website at: www.frankcruzlaw.com
Follow us for updates on Twitter: twitter.com/FRC_LAW.
If you inquire by email, please include your mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.
To be a member of the class action you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the class action.
This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.
SOURCE The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz, Los Angeles
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of MSFT, GOOGL either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) trades at $487.65 and now carries fresh Goldman Sachs conviction behind it. The firm added the software giant to its U.S. Conviction List while removing Broadcom, Johnson & Johnson, and ServiceNow, and kept a $640 price target that sits well above the current share price.
Microsoft anchors enterprise software, Azure cloud infrastructure, and workplace productivity through Microsoft 365. Shares climbed 26.5% over the past five trading sessions after a blockbuster fiscal Q4, bringing the stock back within striking distance of the elusive $500 mark. Goldman’s case: Microsoft may be the cleanest way to own the shift from AI training to enterprise deployment.
Goldman’s Enterprise AI Thesis and a $640 Target Fiscal Q4 revenue hit $90.01 billion, surpassing consensus estimates and up 17.8% year over year, with non-GAAP EPS of $4.74 beating estimates by 11.81%. Azure grew 43% and crossed $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time. Microsoft 365 Copilot reached 30 million paid seats, which the company says reflects “confidence customers are placing in us to power their AI transformation.” Commercial remaining performance obligations hit $678 billion, up 84%.
Goldman argues Microsoft has an “ideal position” as AI moves from a trade focused on training and infrastructure to the early stages of “how to make AI work in enterprise.” The Street backs the direction with 54 Buy ratings, 3 Holds, and zero Sells.
The Capex Bill Coming Due FY2026 capex hit $115.95 billion, up 79.6% year over year, and annual free cash flow fell to $66.99 billion, down 6.5% even as revenue accelerated. Free cash flow yield sits at just 1.85%, a heavy bet that customer demand holds.
Near-term positioning looks crowded. Polymarket traders assign an 83.5% probability that MSFT closes lower in the next session, and insiders have leaned net sellers across 33 recent transactions. Any Azure deceleration or Copilot attach-rate stall would leave the multiple with less room for error.
Why Some Investors Would Wait The stock trades at a 25.89 trailing P/E after a 25% weekly move, meaning much of the enterprise AI narrative is priced in. FY2026 EPS printed at $17.28, and More Personal Computing shrank 4%. A move toward the $433.58 200-day moving average would offer a cleaner entry without abandoning the thesis.
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Where the Numbers Land Microsoft trades at $487.65 against a consensus analyst target of $563.05, implying roughly 15% upside across 57 covering analysts. Goldman’s $640 target sits well above that consensus.
MSFT is up 26.5% over the past week and 27.4% over the past month, but only 2.9% year to date and down 7.0% over the last year. That trails the S&P 500 on the trailing year but closed the gap this month. Peers repositioned alongside MSFT: Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) joined the Conviction List, while Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO), ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) came off.
The Verdict at $487.65 At $487.65, Microsoft still fits Goldman’s Buy thesis, but the easy part of the move may already be behind it.
The path to $640 runs through enterprise AI monetization, and the Q4 print gave bulls the clearest evidence yet that the flywheel is turning. Azure at $100 billion in annual revenue, Copilot at 30 million paid seats, and RPO up 84% are not hype metrics. They are forward demand signals that can convert into revenue over the next several quarters.
The risk/reward still skews constructive for current holders in Goldman’s framing. The watch points are clear: Azure growth needs to stay strong, Copilot adoption cannot stall, and capex has to translate into revenue rather than simply absorb cash flow. Microsoft is the rare megacap where fundamentals, analyst positioning, and Goldman’s enterprise AI scenario are pointing in the same direction. That convergence is what underpins the conviction call in a market where the margin for disappointment has narrowed across Big Tech.
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.
SummaryMicrosoft Corporation offers the most compelling risk-reward among AI leaders, driven by innovation, growth, and attractive valuation amid ongoing CapEx investments.MSFT maintains robust free cash flow and operational efficiency, even as it aggressively invests in AI infrastructure and expands its cloud and AI customer base.MSFT trades at a forward P/E of 23.21x and PEG of 1.51, both more attractive than Apple's higher multiples, despite MSFT's superior growth and margins.While Apple is more resilient to an AI bubble burst, MSFT's diversified enterprise base and accelerating AI monetization underpin its favorable risk-reward profile. Lighthouse Films/DigitalVision via Getty Images
Over the last few months, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) stock has declined by more than 35%, while the semiconductor ETF (SOXX) has fallen nearly 30%.
There is a feeling in the air: "Is it over?"
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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of MSFT either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
I have a beneficial long position in the shares of GOOG
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
In the artificial intelligence (AI) investing world, the cloud computing providers are one of the primary beneficiaries. These are the companies spending hundreds of billions of dollars on data centers purpose-built for AI computing, but expect to make all of that money back -- and more -- as the computing capacity is rented out to clients.
The big three in this realm are Amazon (AMZN -1.82%), Microsoft (MSFT +1.54%), and Alphabet (GOOG +0.85%) (GOOGL +1.34%). Each of these companies just announced results, and delivered incredible results, which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.
I think these are among the best stocks to buy now and hold for the next decade, even after any gains following a post-earnings pop.
Image source: Getty Images.
Each company just crushed cloud computing results Starting with the largest, Amazon Web Services (AWS) had a very strong quarter. Wall Street analysts only expected AWS to deliver 31% growth; instead, it came in at 37%. This shows the strength of Amazon's business and how it's well-positioned to maintain its title as the largest cloud computing provider.
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I'd argue that Microsoft Azure posted the weakest quarter of the three, but it was still quite strong compared to most businesses. Azure's revenue rose 43%, although we don't know the revenue or profit profile of the business because Microsoft doesn't reveal the numbers for individual business units like Amazon and Alphabet do. That's faster than AWS, so why was it a worse quarter? During the previous quarter, Azure grew at 40%, so its growth rate isn't accelerating. For comparison, AWS's growth rate during Q1 was 28%.
However, Alphabet's Google Cloud trumps them all as the best-performing cloud computing business. During Q2, it posted an unbelievable 82% revenue growth rate. However, there's a catch here. While Google Cloud is doing great as a business, it's also benefiting from selling its custom AI chips to external customers and accounting for the revenue in this division. This isn't an apples-to-apples comparison to the other two, but I'd still wager that even when those results are stripped out, it's the fastest-growing of the three.
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So, with AWS's growth rate accelerating and Google Cloud's as well, I think these two are the main winners. However, don't sleep on Microsoft, as it's still delivering solid results; they're just not as good as the others. Regardless, some of this is accounted for in valuations.
The stocks all look reasonably priced All three of these companies have funky things going on with their net income metric, as they all have major gains on investments affecting them. So, instead of using the price-to-earnings ratio, I'm going to use the price-to-operating income ratio to value these three stocks.
GOOG Operating PE Ratio data by YCharts
Microsoft, the worst performer from a cloud perspective, is valued at a sizable discount to the other two. Meanwhile, Alphabet and Amazon's valuations are nearly identical, making them fairly comparable as investment options.
I think all three of these are great buys, and all for different reasons. Microsoft is the value play, and could easily turn its fortunes around, while Alphabet is the rapidly growing business taking market share. Amazon is the legacy stalwart that's seeing major acceleration and could continue to post incredible results, challenging the other two.
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With AI workloads only expected to grow over the next decade, these three stocks are great to buy, hold, and forget about. I think they will easily crush the market and deliver solid returns to investors. The only thing that could cause these businesses to struggle is if AI is an absolute bust, and I don't see that happening with major improvements already being seen throughout the business world.
I keep hitting the buy button on Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction), and the most recent quarter told me exactly why I should not stop. Enterprise demand is absorbing AI compute faster than Microsoft can deploy it, and the receipts are on the income statement.
The number one reason is straightforward: Azure just crossed $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time, and growth is speeding up rather than plateauing. Azure revenue grew 43% year-over-year in Q4, and management guided Q1 FY27 Azure growth even higher, to 45% in constant currency. A business this large re-accelerating is the signal I care about.
The Data That Keeps Me Adding Fiscal Q4 2026, reported July 29, 2026, delivered $90.01 billion in revenue, up 17.75% year-over-year, and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $4.74, beating estimates by 11.81%. That is the fifth consecutive EPS beat. Intelligent Cloud produced $39.31 billion in revenue, up 32%, and Microsoft Cloud reached $59.3 billion, up 27%.
The pipeline behind those numbers is what convinces me this is durable. Commercial remaining performance obligations, the contracted revenue Microsoft has booked but not yet delivered, stand at $678 billion, up 84% year-over-year. That figure is the AI transformation showing up as signed customer commitments. Microsoft 365 Copilot has climbed to over 30 million paid seats, each of them a subscription add-on inside an already-invoiced customer.
The business quality is what lets me sleep. Return on invested capital of 22%, an operating margin of nearly 47%, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29 tell me this is a company earning outsized returns without stretching its balance sheet. Operating cash flow grew 30% in the quarter to $55.4 billion.
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Why Not the Obvious Alternatives I could have channeled the same capital into Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) for Google Cloud exposure, into Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) for AWS, or into NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) to own the silicon. What keeps my money with Microsoft is the layer none of them controls: the productivity software already installed at nearly every large enterprise on the planet. That $678 billion RPO represents contracted revenue riding on Office, Teams, Dynamics, and Windows, sold into customers Microsoft already bills every month. NVIDIA sells the picks. Microsoft owns the mine and the town around it.
The Risk I’m Watching Capex is the real concern. Full-year FY26 capital expenditures hit $115.95 billion, up 109.63% year-over-year, and full-year free cash flow fell 6.46%. That is real money spent ahead of returns, and if AI monetization stalls, the spend becomes stranded capacity. What keeps me adding anyway is the RPO trajectory and the Copilot seat count. Customers are paying for the capacity as it is being built, and operating cash flow is accelerating faster than the capex bill can weigh it down.
Forward Conviction Satya Nadella put it plainly: “We are advancing the frontier on the cost-to-outcome curve, ensuring every customer can turn tokens into business results.” Microsoft is selling the layer that converts compute into revenue for the customer, and that is the mechanic that compounds subscription economics over decades.
At $487.65 and roughly 27 times earnings, I am paying a fair multiple for the highest-quality compounder in enterprise software, plus a 0.73% dividend with room to grow. The buy button stays active because every quarter the receipts get harder to argue with.
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SummaryMicrosoft Corporation delivered a strong quarter, with Azure revenue up 43% YoY, surpassing guidance and validating my bullish thesis.Commercial RPO diversification, Copilot seat growth, and a shift to consumption-based pricing expand MSFT's TAM and reduce concentration risk.Despite high CapEx and accounting changes, MSFT remains a Quality Growth business with visible catalysts and improving cash flow conversion.I reiterate a Strong Buy rating, viewing current valuation as a rare opportunity to acquire a compounding, competitively advantaged leader at a discount. tupungato/iStock Editorial via Getty Images
The Investment Thesis In May, I argued that the market was mispricing Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) because it could not see past capital expenditure (CAPEX) and a souring OpenAI (OPENAI) relationship. Microsoft’s
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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of MSFT either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Hyperscaler shares have ripped higher over the past week. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) is up 26.5% in the last five trading days, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has climbed 20.4% over the same stretch, and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has added 12.5%. Uncover Alpha’s Rihard Jarc argues on X that this is only the beginning, writing, “I have called for a violent shift in upside repricing for hyperscalers… The repricing is in the works, and it is violent.” For investors who watched the move from the sidelines, the question is simple: is the door still open, or did the trade already run away?
Valuation: The Case Still Stands Start with the multiples. Alphabet trades at roughly 17 times earnings while growing revenue 24% year over year, with Google Cloud accelerating 82% and operating margin expanding to 35.6% from 20.7%. Microsoft carries a P/E near 26, supported by 17.75% revenue growth, 46.78% operating margins, and a $678 billion RPO backlog that grew 84% year over year. Amazon is the richest of the three at roughly 32 times earnings, but AWS is compounding at 37%, a pace not seen in 18 quarters, with a 39.4% operating margin. For companies this large, growing this fast, the multiples do not look stretched enough to kill the trade.
Forward Catalyst: Backlog and Buildout The forward setup is unusually visible. Microsoft’s Azure crossed $100 billion in annual revenue, a major milestone, and Microsoft 365 Copilot passed 30 million paid seats. Not to be outdone, Alphabet’s Cloud backlog reached $514 billion, and CFO Anat Ashkenazi raised full-year capex guidance to $195 billion to $205 billion to keep up with demand.
Amazon’s AI and custom-chips businesses each eclipsed a $25 billion annualized run rate. UBS now projects Amazon could exceed $500 billion in net profits by 2030. Management’s Q3 2026 guidance calls for operating income of $22.5 billion to $26.5 billion, up from $17.4 billion a year earlier.
Risk and Entry: Where the Downside Lives The real risk is capex outrunning cash flow. Alphabet’s free cash flow turned negative $5.9 billion in Q2, worrying investors. Long-term debt swelled from $46.5 billion to $98.2 billion, and the buyback was suspended. Amazon’s TTM free cash flow sits at negative $7.6 billion after $54.2 billion of quarterly capex. Microsoft’s FCF fell 23.19% for the year as capex more than doubled to $115.95 billion.
Polymarket traders are also flagging near-term caution, pricing a 90.5% probability of a down day for Amazon on August 4. Independent research corroborates the structural case, with MetLife and PineBridge writing that “datacenter equipment growth as essentially locked in for the next four to five years” at roughly 25% annually.
The Verdict It is not too late. Alphabet is the clearest value at 17 times earnings with 82% cloud growth and Wall Street targeting $426.95. Microsoft offers the highest-quality compounder profile, with analysts and buyers absorbing the capex on the strength of that $678 billion backlog. Amazon carries the richest multiple, but the AWS reacceleration and Q3 operating-income guide leave room to grow into it. For long-term investors evaluating exposure, the setup across all three names looks constructive even after a single day’s move, with plenty of forward catalysts still on the calendar.
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.
Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,456 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,034 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.6% of Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $558.64.
View Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft
More Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure growth and AI monetization are driving the rally. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue and earnings exceeded expectations, while Azure growth accelerated to approximately 30%. Analysts and commentators said demand for cloud and generative-AI services is beginning to justify the company’s roughly $175 billion in annual spending. Microsoft Just Proved that AI Spending Can Pay Off Positive Sentiment: Strong bookings and infrastructure commitments support future revenue. Microsoft’s cloud backlog and more than $100 billion in data-center leases indicate that customers are committing to long-term capacity, giving investors greater confidence in continued Azure and AI expansion. Big Tech’s Cloud Backlog Just Hit $2.3 Trillion Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment has improved. Analysts described Microsoft as one of the better-positioned hyperscalers in the AI race, citing its balance sheet, recurring software revenue, free-cash-flow generation and cloud leadership. The post-earnings advance has erased the stock’s prior 2026 losses and renewed expectations for additional upside. Microsoft’s Stock Is on a Run Not Seen in 26 Years Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft 365 ecosystem expansion. Paychex launched its WISE workforce-intelligence integration in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams, reinforcing Microsoft’s platform reach among small and midsize businesses, although the direct financial impact for MSFT is likely modest. Paychex Brings WISE Workforce Intelligence to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams Negative Sentiment: Securities litigation remains an overhang. Several law firms publicized a class action concerning alleged misrepresentations about Copilot functionality, AI adoption and Azure growth, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. The announcements do not establish liability but could increase legal, reputational and disclosure risks. MSFT Shareholder Alert Negative Sentiment: Capital spending and free cash flow remain watch points. The scale of AI infrastructure spending could pressure cash flow and returns if monetization slows, even though recent results have eased those concerns. The AI Spending Boom and Free Cash Flow Microsoft Stock Performance Microsoft stock opened at $487.65 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $399.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $405.57.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.
Insider Activity at Microsoft In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
About Microsoft (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).
Read More Five stocks we like better than Microsoft SpaceX’s First Earnings Report Could Decide Whether Shorts or Bulls Have Control Why Rare Earth Processing Could Be the Real 2027 Opportunity The S&P 493 Are Staging a Comeback—This Value ETF Offers Broad Exposure TSMC Insiders Are Buying the Pullback—But Is the Signal as Bullish as It Looks?
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California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,906,086 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 781,973 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 5.0% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.29% of Microsoft worth $8,108,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 20th. President Capital boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $525.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $558.64.
Get Our Latest Research Report on MSFT
Microsoft Stock Up 4.9% Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $487.65 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The business has a fifty day moving average of $399.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $405.57. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.
Microsoft News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure growth and AI monetization are driving the rally. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue and earnings exceeded expectations, while Azure growth accelerated to approximately 30%. Analysts and commentators said demand for cloud and generative-AI services is beginning to justify the company’s roughly $175 billion in annual spending. Microsoft Just Proved that AI Spending Can Pay Off Positive Sentiment: Strong bookings and infrastructure commitments support future revenue. Microsoft’s cloud backlog and more than $100 billion in data-center leases indicate that customers are committing to long-term capacity, giving investors greater confidence in continued Azure and AI expansion. Big Tech’s Cloud Backlog Just Hit $2.3 Trillion Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment has improved. Analysts described Microsoft as one of the better-positioned hyperscalers in the AI race, citing its balance sheet, recurring software revenue, free-cash-flow generation and cloud leadership. The post-earnings advance has erased the stock’s prior 2026 losses and renewed expectations for additional upside. Microsoft’s Stock Is on a Run Not Seen in 26 Years Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft 365 ecosystem expansion. Paychex launched its WISE workforce-intelligence integration in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams, reinforcing Microsoft’s platform reach among small and midsize businesses, although the direct financial impact for MSFT is likely modest. Paychex Brings WISE Workforce Intelligence to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams Negative Sentiment: Securities litigation remains an overhang. Several law firms publicized a class action concerning alleged misrepresentations about Copilot functionality, AI adoption and Azure growth, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. The announcements do not establish liability but could increase legal, reputational and disclosure risks. MSFT Shareholder Alert Negative Sentiment: Capital spending and free cash flow remain watch points. The scale of AI infrastructure spending could pressure cash flow and returns if monetization slows, even though recent results have eased those concerns. The AI Spending Boom and Free Cash Flow 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).
Read More Five stocks we like better than Microsoft SpaceX’s First Earnings Report Could Decide Whether Shorts or Bulls Have Control Why Rare Earth Processing Could Be the Real 2027 Opportunity The S&P 493 Are Staging a Comeback—This Value ETF Offers Broad Exposure TSMC Insiders Are Buying the Pullback—But Is the Signal as Bullish as It Looks?
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Freemont Management S.A. reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 9.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,600 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.3% of Freemont Management S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Freemont Management S.A.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $199,014,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after buying an additional 537,634 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Microsoft by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $131,750,000 after acquiring an additional 49,371 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Microsoft Price Performance MSFT stock opened at $487.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $399.37 and a 200-day moving average of $405.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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 company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.
Trending Headlines about Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure growth and AI monetization are driving the rally. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue and earnings exceeded expectations, while Azure growth accelerated to approximately 30%. Analysts and commentators said demand for cloud and generative-AI services is beginning to justify the company’s roughly $175 billion in annual spending. Microsoft Just Proved that AI Spending Can Pay Off Positive Sentiment: Strong bookings and infrastructure commitments support future revenue. Microsoft’s cloud backlog and more than $100 billion in data-center leases indicate that customers are committing to long-term capacity, giving investors greater confidence in continued Azure and AI expansion. Big Tech’s Cloud Backlog Just Hit $2.3 Trillion Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment has improved. Analysts described Microsoft as one of the better-positioned hyperscalers in the AI race, citing its balance sheet, recurring software revenue, free-cash-flow generation and cloud leadership. The post-earnings advance has erased the stock’s prior 2026 losses and renewed expectations for additional upside. Microsoft’s Stock Is on a Run Not Seen in 26 Years Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft 365 ecosystem expansion. Paychex launched its WISE workforce-intelligence integration in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams, reinforcing Microsoft’s platform reach among small and midsize businesses, although the direct financial impact for MSFT is likely modest. Paychex Brings WISE Workforce Intelligence to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams Negative Sentiment: Securities litigation remains an overhang. Several law firms publicized a class action concerning alleged misrepresentations about Copilot functionality, AI adoption and Azure growth, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. The announcements do not establish liability but could increase legal, reputational and disclosure risks. MSFT Shareholder Alert Negative Sentiment: Capital spending and free cash flow remain watch points. The scale of AI infrastructure spending could pressure cash flow and returns if monetization slows, even though recent results have eased those concerns. The AI Spending Boom and Free Cash Flow Analyst Ratings Changes A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. China Renaissance reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $558.64.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on MSFT
Insider Transactions at Microsoft In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
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).
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Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 300,292 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.8% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $111,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
More Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure growth and AI monetization are driving the rally. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue and earnings exceeded expectations, while Azure growth accelerated to approximately 30%. Analysts and commentators said demand for cloud and generative-AI services is beginning to justify the company’s roughly $175 billion in annual spending. Microsoft Just Proved that AI Spending Can Pay Off Positive Sentiment: Strong bookings and infrastructure commitments support future revenue. Microsoft’s cloud backlog and more than $100 billion in data-center leases indicate that customers are committing to long-term capacity, giving investors greater confidence in continued Azure and AI expansion. Big Tech’s Cloud Backlog Just Hit $2.3 Trillion Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment has improved. Analysts described Microsoft as one of the better-positioned hyperscalers in the AI race, citing its balance sheet, recurring software revenue, free-cash-flow generation and cloud leadership. The post-earnings advance has erased the stock’s prior 2026 losses and renewed expectations for additional upside. Microsoft’s Stock Is on a Run Not Seen in 26 Years Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft 365 ecosystem expansion. Paychex launched its WISE workforce-intelligence integration in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams, reinforcing Microsoft’s platform reach among small and midsize businesses, although the direct financial impact for MSFT is likely modest. Paychex Brings WISE Workforce Intelligence to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams Negative Sentiment: Securities litigation remains an overhang. Several law firms publicized a class action concerning alleged misrepresentations about Copilot functionality, AI adoption and Azure growth, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. The announcements do not establish liability but could increase legal, reputational and disclosure risks. MSFT Shareholder Alert Negative Sentiment: Capital spending and free cash flow remain watch points. The scale of AI infrastructure spending could pressure cash flow and returns if monetization slows, even though recent results have eased those concerns. The AI Spending Boom and Free Cash Flow Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. CLSA reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. President Capital upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target (up from $570.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $558.64.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Up 4.9% MSFT stock opened at $487.65 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $399.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $405.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $3.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.
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).
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LOS ANGELES, Aug. 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Portnoy Law Firm advises Microsoft Corporation, (“Microsoft” or the "Company") (NASDAQ: MSFT) investors of a class action on behalf of investors that bought securities between May 1, 2025 and January 28, 2026, inclusive (the “Class Period”). Microsoft investors have until August 11, 2026 to file a lead plaintiff motion.
Investors are encouraged to contact attorney Lesley F. Portnoy, by phone 310-692-8883 or email: [email protected], to discuss their legal rights, or join the case via https://portnoylaw.com/microsoft-corporation. The Portnoy Law Firm can provide a complimentary case evaluation and discuss investors’ options for pursuing claims to recover their losses.
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.
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.”
The Portnoy Law Firm represents investors in pursuing claims caused by corporate wrongdoing. The Firm’s founding partner has recovered over $5.5 billion for aggrieved investors. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
Lesley F. Portnoy, Esq.
Admitted CA, NY and TX Bar [email protected]
310-692-8883
www.portnoylaw.com
, /PRNewswire/ -- The Gross Law Firm issues the following notice to shareholders of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT).
Shareholders who purchased shares of MSFT during the class period listed are encouraged to contact the firm regarding possible lead plaintiff appointment. Appointment as lead plaintiff is not required to partake in any recovery.
ALLEGATIONS: The complaint alleges that during the class period, Defendants issued materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (a) Microsoft's Copilot family of products had experienced significant brand positioning, user experience, usage, data siloing, computational capacity, organizational, and interoperability problems; (b) Microsoft's flagship proprietary AI model ranked well below competitors on a number of benchmark tests; (c) Microsoft needed to increase by billions of dollars its capital expenditures and divert GPU and 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 R&D; and (d) as a result of (a)-(c) above, Microsoft had failed to convert a significant percentage of its commercial Microsoft 365 users to paid Copilot subscriptions and the Company's Copilot offerings had lost market share to rival products, a trend that was increasing.
DEADLINE: August 11, 2026 Shareholders should not delay in registering for this class action. Register your information here: https://securitiesclasslaw.com/securities/microsoft-corporation-loss-submission-form/?id=198117&from=4
NEXT STEPS FOR SHAREHOLDERS: Once you register as a shareholder who purchased shares of MSFT during the timeframe listed above, you will be enrolled in a portfolio monitoring software to provide you with status updates throughout the lifecycle of the case. The deadline to seek to be a lead plaintiff is August 11, 2026. There is no cost or obligation to you to participate in this case.
WHY GROSS LAW FIRM? The Gross Law Firm is a nationally recognized class action law firm, and our mission is to protect the rights of all investors who have suffered as a result of deceit, fraud, and illegal business practices. The Gross Law Firm is committed to ensuring that companies adhere to responsible business practices and engage in good corporate citizenship. The firm seeks recovery on behalf of investors who incurred losses when false and/or misleading statements or the omission of material information by a company lead to artificial inflation of the company's stock. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
CONTACT:
The Gross Law Firm
15 West 38th Street, 12th floor
New York, NY, 10018
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (646) 453-8903
Executive Accountability: Jared Spataro's "70% of the Fortune 500" Copilot Claims Now at the Center of Microsoft Securities Action Executive Accountability: Jared Spataro's "70% of the Fortune 500" Copilot Claims Now at the Center of Microsoft Securities Action
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) has delivered one of the most dramatic post-earnings rallies in mega-cap history. My 24/7 Wall St. price target says the run has legs, but with a caveat about how quickly the market got here.
Microsoft trades at $487.65 after a 25.33% one-week surge triggered by a blowout Q4 FY26 earnings report. Our 24/7 Wall St. price target for Microsoft is $573.79, implying 23.47% upside over the next 12 months. The recommendation is buy at 90% confidence. Azure crossing $100B in annual revenue and Copilot scaling past 30M paid seats are the pillars.
24/7 Wall St. Price Target Summary Metric Value Current Price $487.65 24/7 Wall St. Price Target $573.79 Upside 23.47% Recommendation BUY Confidence Level 90% The Rally That Rewrote The Chart MSFT entered earnings week near $389, down from a 52-week high of $550.24 and stuck in a months-long slide from last August. Q4 FY26 delivered: Revenue hit $90.01 billion, up 17.75% YoY, with non-GAAP EPS of $4.74 against $4.2397 consensus, an 11.81% beat.
Azure grew 43% and commercial RPO ballooned to $678 billion, up 84% YoY. Shares jumped 15.51% on the earnings report, the largest single-day earnings reaction in the six-quarter dataset.
The Case For $600+ Bulls have real ammunition. Azure crossed $100 billion in annual revenue, Microsoft 365 Copilot passed 30 million paid seats, and the extended OpenAI partnership locks in $250B Azure commitment through 2032.
Our bull-case scenario points to $603.61, a 29.89% total return. Reddit chatter reflects the shift, with sentiment jumping from 35 on July 28 to 94 by July 31.
What Could Go Wrong The bear case starts with capex. Full-year FY26 capex hit $115.95 billion, with Q4 consuming $35.80 billion, up 109.63% YoY. Free cash flow fell 23.19% in the quarter. Bulls counter that FCF pressure reflects buildout supporting the $678B RPO backlog, meaning spend has contracted demand behind it.
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More Personal Computing revenue declined 4%, insider activity shows net selling across 33 recent transactions, and mean reversion is real. Historical MSFT one-week post-earnings returns average -2.16%. Our bear scenario is $495.94.
How Microsoft Compares To Alphabet, Amazon, And Oracle Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is the closest cloud competitor via Google Cloud. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) runs AWS, Azure’s direct hyperscale rival. Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) has emerged as the surprise enterprise-AI infrastructure winner, with RPO growth paralleling Microsoft’s $678B backlog.
Microsoft trades at a trailing P/E of 27 with forward P/E near 26 against 31.7% earnings growth and a 46.78% operating margin. That margin premium, combined with Azure’s 43% growth rate, makes our $573.79 target reasonable against the peer group.
The Bull Case Holds, With Discipline The 24/7 Wall St. price target of $573.79 and buy rating stand at 90% confidence. The RPO backlog tips the scale. Contracted future revenue that grew 84% YoY is rare at this scale.
The setup looks most attractive on any pullback above the $460 pre-rally breakout, while a Q1 FY27 print showing Azure decelerating below 35% or capex efficiency worsening would warrant caution. Given the vertical rally, the setup favors scaling in rather than chasing.
Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $525 2027 $573.79 2028 $665 2029 $765 2030 $870.44 These projections assume Microsoft executes on Azure and Copilot monetization. Significant upside or downside could result from AI capex returns materializing faster than expected, or regulatory action against the OpenAI partnership.
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What are the Zacks Style Scores? The Zacks Style Scores, developed alongside the Zacks Rank, are complementary indicators that rate stocks based on three widely-followed investing methodologies; they also help investors pick stocks with the best chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.
Each stock is given an alphabetic rating of A, B, C, D or F based on their value, growth, and momentum qualities. With this system, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on, meaning the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.
The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:
Value ScoreValue investors love finding good stocks at good prices, especially before the broader market catches on to a stock's true value. Utilizing ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and many other multiples, the Value Style Score identifies the most attractive and most discounted stocks.
Growth ScoreGrowth investors are more concerned with a stock's future prospects, and the overall financial health and strength of a company. Thus, the Growth Style Score analyzes characteristics like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will see sustainable growth over time.
Momentum ScoreMomentum traders and investors live by the saying "the trend is your friend." This investing style is all about taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Employing factors like one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, the Momentum Style Score can indicate favorable times to build a position in high-momentum stocks.
VGM ScoreIf you want a combination of all three Style Scores, then the VGM Score will be your friend. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, helping you find the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum. It's also one of the best indicators to use with the Zacks Rank.
How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank A proprietary stock-rating model, the Zacks Rank utilizes the power of earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings outlook, to help investors create a successful portfolio.
#1 (Strong Buy) stocks have produced an unmatched +23.94% average annual return since 1988, which is more than double the S&P 500's performance over the same time frame. However, the Zacks Rank examines a ton of stocks, and there can be more than 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, and another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.
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That's where the Style Scores come in.
You want to make sure you're buying stocks with the highest likelihood of success, and to do that, you'll need to pick stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B. If you like a stock that only has a #3 (Hold) rank, it should also have Scores of A or B to guarantee as much upside potential as possible.
The direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should always be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy, since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank.
Here's an example: a stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, even one with Style Scores of A and B, still has a downward-trending earnings outlook, and a bigger chance its share price will decrease too.
Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.
Stock to Watch: Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) Redmond, WA-based Microsoft Corporation is one of the largest broad-based technology providers in the world. The company holds the leading position in the PC software market with its Windows operating system.
MSFT is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.
Additionally, the company could be a top pick for growth investors. MSFT has a Growth Style Score of B, forecasting year-over-year earnings growth of 9% for the current fiscal year.
13 analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days for fiscal 2027. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.30 to $19.57 per share. MSFT boasts an average earnings surprise of +9.3%.
With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Growth and VGM Style Scores, MSFT should be on investors' short list.
Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) upcoming quarterly dividend has been scheduled for Thursday, September 10, 2026, with the current estimates suggesting the company is going to reward investors as of August 20 with $0.91 per share.
The September dividend represents no change from the previous three payouts, issued on June 11, 2026, March 12, 2026, and December 11, 2025, according to the official announcement.
Accordingly, investors holding 100 Microsoft shares by August 20 will earn a total of $91 in dividend income next month. If the tech giant does not increase the payout, the yearly Microsoft stock dividend for 2026 will total $364.
MSFT quarterly dividend. Source: Microsoft.com Microsoft Corp. dividend profile Microsoft continues to maintain one of the most consistent dividend records in the technology sector, with a forward dividend yield of 0.75% and an annualized dividend of $3.64 per share.
What’s more, the software leader has increased its dividend for 24 consecutive years, and with a relatively conservative forward payout ratio of 18.54%, it has significant room to continue funding dividend growth while investing in its core businesses.
Historically, Microsoft’s shares have recovered quickly after going ex-dividend, with an average price recovery time of 1.7 days. Although its 0.75% dividend yield sits below the broader technology sector average of 1.37%, the company has prioritized steady dividend increases and share price appreciation over offering a high yield.
Even in 2026, which has been one of Microsoft’sweakest years on record, the stock has managed to recover, now sitting up around 3% year-to-date as of press time. For context, a $10,000 investment in Microsoft at the start of 2026, with all dividends reinvested, would now be worth $10,415.
In other words, the investment would have generated $38.19 in reinvested dividends and $376.82 in capital gains, for a total profit of $415, representing a 4.15% total return.
Featured image via Shutterstock
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Q2 2026 earnings season settled one of the biggest debates on Wall Street: the hyperscalers are converting their AI infrastructure spending into accelerating cloud revenue, not just capex line items. Every one of the big three cloud platforms posted growth reacceleration in the quarter that just wrapped, and each stock reacted differently, creating three distinct entry setups for August.
The setup for the second half is simple. AI-related capex among the top hyperscalers is now running at roughly $452 billion in 2026, more than four times what the entire US publicly traded energy sector spends. That money is showing up as backlog, revenue and margin at Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet. Here are the three cloud names to keep an eye on this month.
Microsoft (MSFT) Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) trades at $464.72 with a P/E of 26, a forward EPS estimate of $19.96, and a Wall Street target of $563.05 against 54 buy-or-better ratings and zero sells.
The Q4 fiscal 2026 report on July 29 is the reason to pay attention now. Revenue landed at $90.01 billion, up 17.75%, non-GAAP EPS came in at $4.74 versus a $4.24 estimate, and Azure grew 43% year over year, capping a full year in which Azure crossed $100 billion in revenue for the first time. Commercial remaining performance obligations swelled to $678 billion, up 84%, and Microsoft 365 Copilot passed 30 million paid seats. CEO Satya Nadella framed it plainly: "Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time, and Microsoft 365 Copilot reached over 30 million paid seats, reflecting the confidence customers are placing in us to power their AI transformation."
The bull case: an accelerating cloud franchise with visible multi-year backlog and five straight EPS beats. The caveat: full-year capex hit $115.95 billion, up 79.62%, and free cash flow slipped 6.46% for the year. If Azure growth ever stalls, the capex intensity becomes a problem fast. For now, the shares are still down 3.48% year to date despite a 21.75% pop last week, keeping this a coiled setup entering August.
Amazon (AMZN) Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is the reacceleration story. Shares are at $271.58, up 17.66% YTD, and the stock ripped 15.32% on July 31 alone after earnings.
Q2 revenue was $200.61 billion, up 19.6%, with operating income climbing 43% to $27.46 billion. AWS hit $42.23 billion at 37% growth, the fastest pace in 18 quarters, with a 39.4% operating margin. Custom silicon and AI services each cleared $25 billion in annualized run rate growing at triple-digit rates. CEO Andy Jassy summed it up: "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."
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Q3 guidance calls for $197 billion to $202 billion in sales and $22.5 billion to $26.5 billion in operating income. The forward P/E based price sits at $486.01, well above the $321.95 analyst target, and Polymarket traders are pricing a 98.4% probability that 2026 capex tops $170 billion.
The caveat is the same infrastructure bill: Q2 capex of $54.21 billion pushed TTM free cash flow negative at -$7.6 billion, and management flagged tariff and recession risk in guidance. The bet here is that AWS growth continues compounding faster than the capex bill.
Alphabet (GOOGL) Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is the cheapest large-cap cloud/AI name on the board. Shares trade at $356.13 against a P/E of 18, cheaper than either Microsoft or Amazon, and the stock is up 86.11% over the past year.
The July 22 Q2 report was the standout of the quarter. Revenue reached $119.80 billion, up 24.2%, and Google Cloud accelerated to $24.77 billion at 82% growth, with nearly 90% of the Fortune 100 using Gemini Enterprise. Operating margin expanded 2 percentage points to 34%. CEO Sundar Pichai told investors, "Q2 was an amazing quarter, with Alphabet revenues growing 24% year-over-year and Google Cloud revenues accelerating to 82% growth, driven by demand for AI infrastructure and AI solutions." Gemini models now process 22 billion API tokens per minute, and the Gemini App has 950 million monthly active users. Polymarket traders assign an 88.5% probability that the next Gemini Pro model releases by August 31, a near-term catalyst worth watching.
Q2 capex doubled to $44.92 billion, free cash flow flipped to -$5.86 billion, long-term debt jumped from $46.5 billion to $98.2 billion, and the buyback was suspended. Investors are being asked to underwrite one of the largest infrastructure builds in corporate history. At 18x earnings, with cloud growth accelerating to 82%, the risk-reward remains the most attractive of the three.
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This earnings season has been chock-full of volatility. Amazon (AMZN +4.58%) and Microsoft (MSFT +4.93%) added a combined $1.04 trillion in market cap between July 29 and July 31, while Apple (AAPL -1.78%) and Meta Platforms (META +6.02%) shed a combined $510 billion.
Here's why megacap stock prices are all over the place, as well as a straightforward way for investors to filter through the noise with a low-cost exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Image source: Getty Images.
Wall Street turns from sour to sweet on Microsoft and Amazon Going into earnings, Microsoft and Amazon were badly underperforming the S&P 500 (^GSPC +1.48%) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +2.13%) this year as investors questioned the payoff from capital expenditure (capex) on artificial intelligence (AI). Investors were gravitating toward Apple because of its high free cash flow (FCF) and limited capex spending. AI tools, from enterprise software to chatbots, ultimately operate on consumer electronics, and Apple has an unmatched integrated ecosystem of devices.
But Apple fell after reporting earnings because memory chip costs could continue eating into its profit margins. And Meta Platforms' FCF is evaporating due to surging AI capex and operating expenses.
Meanwhile, Amazon stock popped because Amazon Web Services (AWS) achieved its fastest growth in 18 quarters, and its retail business is booming. Similarly, Microsoft, which is the No. 2 player in cloud infrastructure behind AWS, saw Azure revenue top $100 billion for the first time in a full fiscal year.
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Cut through market noise with a low-cost ETF Earnings drive stock prices over the long term. But in the near term, narratives and investor sentiment have significant influence. So, if you're left scratching your head as to why Amazon and Microsoft were so badly undervalued that they could gain more than $1 trillion combined in just two days or why Apple and Meta underwent steep sell-offs -- then you're not alone.
The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK +2.22%) offers the simplest way to bet on sustained AI innovation from today's market leaders without having to fixate on why some stocks are in or out of favor.
The fund is essentially an even more concentrated version of the popular Vanguard Growth ETF. And unlike index-specific ETFs, such as the Invesco QQQ Trust, which tracks the Nasdaq-100, the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF holds stocks like Eli Lilly and Oracle that are on the New York Stock Exchange rather than the Nasdaq.
With a staggering 67% weighting in just 10 holdings -- Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Broadcom, Meta Platforms, Tesla, Eli Lilly, and Advanced Micro Devices -- the fund is essentially a concentrated bet that today's market leaders will continue driving outsize gains for years to come. That bet has paid off, as the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF has outperformed the S&P 500 during the past decade.
MGK Total Return Level data by YCharts.
A catch-all bet on today's market-leading growth stocks The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is a good buy for investors seeking significant exposure to chip leaders, cloud computing giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet, and more. The ETF could be a particularly appealing buy for investors looking for exposure to top growth stocks rather than just one sector.
For example, Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Broadcom lead the tech sector; Amazon and Tesla are in the consumer discretionary sector; Alphabet and Meta dominate the communications sector; and Eli Lilly is a powerhouse growth stock that leads the healthcare sector. And with a mere 0.05% expense ratio, the ETF has just $5 in annual fees for every $10,000 invested. By comparison, the Vanguard Growth ETF and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF have 0.03% expense ratios, which means $3 in annual fees for every $10,000 invested.
The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is a good buy for investors who want exposure to the top growth stocks across all sectors, with an emphasis on today's industry leaders rather than spreading their allocation among lower-weighted components. Put another way, the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is a better buy than the Vanguard Growth ETF, a Nasdaq-100-based ETF, or an S&P 500 index fund if you believe that AI capex spending will pay off for hyperscalers like Amazon and Microsoft.
The market sent a clear stamp of approval for Amazon and Microsoft last week, casting out Apple and Meta Platforms. But just a week ago, Apple was significantly outperforming its megacap peers. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF offers a simple way for long-term investors to bet big on multiple themes rather than getting overly caught up in knee-jerk reactions to earnings reports.
Daniel Foelber has positions in Broadcom, Nvidia, and Oracle and has the following options: long September 2028 $100 calls on Oracle and short August 2026 $240 calls on Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Broadcom, Eli Lilly, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, Tesla, Vanguard Growth ETF, and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- #SMB--LegalZoom.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: LZ), today announced it has launched an agent integrated with Microsoft 365 Copilot. Available through the Microsoft Marketplace, the new agent brings LegalZoom's suite of legal services — including business formation, business compliance filings, and attorney consultations — directly into the Microsoft 365 Copilot environment.The integration is designed to simplify common legal and business tasks by combining LegalZoom's deep.
Both Microsoft (MSFT +4.93%) and Amazon (AMZN +4.58%) are coming off blistering earnings reports that helped revive interest in both stocks after a tough year, though more so for Microsoft.
Microsoft and Amazon are two of the largest companies in the world by market cap, helping fuel the artificial intelligence revolution by making hundreds of billions in capital expenditures. This level of investment has drawn the ire of the bears, who are concerned that strong returns on such investments may not materialize.
Which stock does Wall Street think has more upside?
Image source: Getty Images.
Microsoft: Starting to find its AI groove Investors have been bearish on Microsoft for a few reasons. First, they were concerned that the company's artificial intelligence assistant, Copilot, was not gaining enough traction, especially since Microsoft had made it a core part of its AI strategy.
Microsoft was also penalized during the software sell-off due to concerns that Microsoft 365 might lose some of its competitive moat, based on the belief that AI could replicate software products much more quickly than in the past.
But Microsoft has shown that its AI strategy is gaining traction. Paid Copilot subscribers rose by 10 million in the quarter to reach 30 million total. That's double the net added subscribers in the prior quarter.
Furthermore, the company's Azure cloud division, Microsoft's cloud computing division, saw revenue surpass $100 billion for the first time, which is up a whopping 43% year over year. That showed investors at least some evidence that Microsoft's capex is starting to pay off.
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Of the 35 Wall Street analysts who have issued research reports on Microsoft during the past three months, 34 have buy ratings on the stock, with one recommending a hold. The average price target implies nearly 21% upside, according to TipRanks.
Following the quarter, Goldman Sachs analyst Gabriela Borges maintained a buy rating on the stock and raised her price target by $30 to $640. In a research note, Borges called the quarter an inflection point for the company that addressed investor concerns.
Not only are the company's AI products resonating with customers, but the AI business is becoming more profitable. While inflation has increased the company's AI investments, the company has maintained its long-term margin goals, Borges wrote.
I would agree that, given where the stock has traded this year, any signs that the company's AI strategy is working make the stock a buy. Although Azure stole the show, progress on Copilot was a meaningful step as well.
Amazon: AWS posts its strongest growth in 18 quarters Similar to Microsoft, Amazon's cloud business, Amazon Web Services, also stole the show in the quarter.
AWS's revenue of $42.2 billion beat analyst estimates by nearly $1.7 billion and grew 37% year over year. It was the division's fastest growth in 18 quarters.
The company also hiked its full-year capital expenditure projection to $220 billion, largely due to surging memory costs. Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy doesn't see AWS slowing down any time soon.
"Even at that amount [of capex], 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," he said on the company's earnings call.
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Of the 38 Wall Street analysts who have issued research reports on Microsoft during the past three months, 37 have buy ratings on the stock, with one recommending a hold. The average price target implies roughly 23% upside, according to TipRanks.
Benchmark analyst Daniel Kurnos recently maintained a buy rating on the stock and raised his price target by $30 to $400, implying about a 40% gain from recent levels. Kurnos believes Jassy made the strongest case for why investors must own the stock over the next decade to capitalize on the AI revolution.
Kurnos estimates the stock trades at about 10 times the company's operating income before depreciation and amortization.
As you can see, Wall Street has similar sentiment for both Microsoft and Amazon, given the similar upside scenarios. I also think both stocks are buys right now, with evidence that their big capex sprees are not on a whim.
Both have embedded risk, particularly if the AI investment doesn't pay off. But I also expect both could navigate a difficult environment and generate strong long-term returns for investors.
Picture a hypothetical Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) engineer, call him Mark, 60 years old with 12 years on the badge. His age and service add to 72, clearing the program’s Rule of 70, so he qualified for the buyout letter that landed in his inbox this spring. His first instinct was the one nearly everyone has: take the money, plan to file for Social Security at 62, and be done. That inclination was premature. The real question buried in the offer was when to turn on his Social Security benefit.
Microsoft reportedly offered the package to roughly 8,750 U.S. employees, about 7% of its U.S. workforce, in the first voluntary retirement program in the company’s more than 50-year history. Employees were given 30 days to decide. For a mid-senior worker like Mark at level 64, the cash piece was one week of base pay for every six months of service, capped at 39 weeks. With 12 years at Microsoft, that works out to approximately 24 weeks of base pay. Not bad. But the health coverage is what changes the retirement math.
The Real Prize Is the Health Bridge The most valuable line item for someone Mark’s age was up to five years of continued access to Microsoft medical, dental, vision, and well-being coverage. Microsoft fully subsidized year one, while participants paid monthly premiums for the remaining years. Coverage could end sooner once Medicare or another coverage option became available.
The prize was continuity, not five years of free insurance. For Mark, the package could carry him from 60 to Medicare eligibility at 65 without forcing him into the individual insurance market. That breathing room also makes it easier to avoid filing for Social Security the moment he turns 62 simply because another bill needs paying.
The bridge changes the decision because every month he waits after 62 raises the benefit he eventually receives.
The Math on Claiming Age Social Security’s rules are unforgiving in one direction and generous in the other. Claim at 62 and the check can be reduced by 30% compared with full retirement age. Wait past full retirement age (FRA) and Social Security adds about 8% per year until 70.
Suppose Mark’s benefit at 67 would be $2,800 a month. Filing at 62 reduces it to roughly $1,960. Waiting until 70 raises it to approximately $3,470. That is a spread of more than $1,500 a month, indexed for inflation, for as long as he lives. The 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) was 2.8%.
The larger check is not free money. Mark would give up eight years of payments by waiting from 62 to 70. Ignoring COLAs and taxes, the simple break-even point lands around age 80. Waiting becomes more attractive if he expects a long retirement or has a spouse who could eventually inherit the larger amount through a widow or widower benefit.
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This is why comparing delayed Social Security directly with a Treasury yield can mislead. It is not an investment paying 8%. It is a trade: fewer checks now in exchange for a larger lifetime income floor later.
How the Severance Fits In For Mark specifically, the severance creates no Social Security earnings-test problem because he is only 60 and cannot claim yet. The special-payment rule matters to Microsoft employees who were already 62 or older and collecting benefits when they accepted the package.
Under Social Security guidance in Publication 05-10063, severance, accumulated vacation, bonuses, and similar payments received after retirement generally do not count toward the earnings limit when they were earned through work completed before retirement. An older participant may need to tell SSA that the W-2 includes a special payment and document when it was earned.
That is an earnings-test exception, not a tax break. The payment can still be taxable in the year received.
The stock piece plays a supporting role. Six months of continued vesting on unvested stock awards, or 12 months for employees with 24 or more years of service, gave participants a smoother glide out. With 12 years of service, Mark qualified for six months.
What Mark Actually Had to Decide Two factors deserved most of his attention:
Treat the health coverage as part of the claiming decision. He needed to price the premiums for years two through five and confirm exactly when coverage would end. If the benefit carried him to Medicare without filing at 62, the lifetime value could exceed the cash severance. Give the claiming decision its own timetable. Leaving Microsoft did not mean Social Security had to begin at 62. An application can be withdrawn within 12 months and only once, but the claimant generally must repay the benefits already received. That is an escape hatch, not an undo button anyone wants to use casually. A shorter life expectancy, a younger spouse, investment assets, consulting income, or a pension can all change the answer. But for a healthy 60-year-old handed a medical bridge to Medicare, the buyout was the easy part. The decision carrying the next 20 or 30 years was what to do when 62 arrived.
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By the morning of August 4, a sudden rally after the quarterly earnings erased all stock market losses Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) had suffered in 2026 – previously one of the firm’s worst years on record – and pushed the equity 3.11% into the green.
Microsoft stock price YTD chart. Source: Google The sudden change in the trend simultaneously ensured that the first-quarter (Q1) decision by the Gates Foundation to completely wipe its MSFT position might have been one of its worst.
While the exact transaction date is unknown, Microsoft stock hit highs of $483.47 and lows of $356.77 during Q1, and its average price in the timeframe stood at $435.22.
Under the circumstances, unless Bill Gates’ foundation sold near the top, it could have missed up to $1 billion in proceeds relative to what it would have received had it waited until early August 2026.
If you invested $1,000 into Microsoft stock during Q1 lows, you’d now have this much On the flip side, if a different investor took Microsoft’s abysmal early 2026 performance as a buy rather than a sell signal and purchased $1,000 worth of MSFT near the quarter’s bottom, they’d have $1,366.85 by press time.
Additionally, even if they bought at the period’s average price of $435.22, they would still have a portfolio worth $1,120.47. Finally, even buying at the top of the Q1 range would have yielded a profit – though a significantly smaller one – as $1,000 would have turned into $1,008.65.
Bill Gates Foundation Microsoft stock sale likely part of 2045 sunsetting plan Meanwhile, it is arguably unlikely that the Gates Foundation deliberately timed its most recent and final sale of Microsoft stock. Indeed, it has been exclusively selling the equity since late 2023, and the latest purchase was as far back as Q3 2023.
Furthermore, Bill Gates outlined his plans to sunset his organization by 2045 already in the first half (H1) of 2025 when he declared his net worth would drop by an estimated 99% within roughly two decades.
In about a year, the value of the Gates Foundation portfolio dropped by approximately 25%, with the 13-F filing covering Q1, 2025, showing total holdings worth $41.8 billion and the Q1, 2026, document indicating $31.6 billion.
Featured image via Shutterstock
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