Microsoft Reaches $4 Trillion Valuation, Driven by AI and Cloud Growth

Microsoft follows Nvidia's lead, surpasses $4 trillion market capitalization on soaring demand for cloud services, multi-front AI endeavors

Microsoft on Thursday reached a $4 trillion market valuation, becoming the second company in history to do so, following Nvidia hitting the same milestone earlier in July. The achievement comes amid strong earnings for the fiscal 2025, soaring demand for cloud services, the company's aggressive push into artificial intelligence, and the upcoming end of Windows 10 support, which may catalyze upgrades, reports Yahoo! Finance. For the year ended June 30, 2025, Microsoft reported annual sales of $281.7 billion, marking a 15% rise from the prior year. Azure surpassed $75 billion in revenue, up 34% compared to the previous year, driven by growth across all workloads. Operating income reached $128.5 billion, growing 17% year-over-year, and net income came in at $101.8 billion, up 16% compared to FY2024. In its most recent quarterly results, Microsoft reported particularly strong performance in its cloud division -- the Intelligent Cloud unit -- which earned $29.9 billion, indicating growing reliance of enterprise clients on Microsoft's infrastructure offerings. A major contributor to this growth has been Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI. The company's cloud services power OpenAI's models, while OpenAI's technology is embedded throughout Microsoft's products, including Azure and tools aimed at consumers. In fact, Microsoft is probably a leader in applied AI technologies as it is consistently expanding its use of AI across its product ecosystem. Microsoft's Copilot / Copilot+ assistant is being integrated into tools like Microsoft 365, the Edge browser, and the Windows operating system. Since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022, Microsoft's stock price has more than doubled, reflecting investor confidence in its AI and cloud strategies. OpenAI has also benefited financially, as the company now earns around $10 billion in annual revenue, according to a CNBC report. Despite its deep ties to OpenAI, Microsoft is building out its own AI capabilities, which highlights Microsoft's intent to reduce dependence on external providers. It has introduced the Phi series of models and is working on a large-scale system called MAI-01, intended to rival advanced offerings from both OpenAI and Google. However, tensions have emerged between OpenAI and Microsoft over governance issues. Specifically, discussions are ongoing regarding OpenAI's transition to a public benefit corporation, overseen by its nonprofit parent, which has complicated the dynamics of the alliance between Microsoft and OpenAI. To support this expansion, Microsoft is planning a major financial commitment. In 2025, the company aims to invest $80 billion into AI infrastructure and development. Even with such aggressive spending, internal forecasts suggest that user demand is still exceeding available resources, which is another factor that drives investor interest toward Microsoft, in expectation of strong demand. On the Windows side of matters, Microsoft is preparing for the upcoming end-of-support for Windows 10, scheduled for October. The shift is expected to drive increased adoption of Windows 11, which will in turn drive sales of Microsoft, as users and organizations need to stay up to date with supported systems and features. However, for now it is hard to estimate the impact of Windows 10 end-of-support on Microsoft's earnings. Unlike some other American high-tech companies, Microsoft has not been heavily impacted by trade policy shifts under the new Administration. Partners of Apple, AMD, Nvidia, and dozens of hardware companies are facing pressure to relocate their manufacturing operations from China and other Asian countries either back to the U.S., or somewhere close, or pay tariffs. By contrast, Microsoft has mostly been immune to such issues so far.

Microsoft races past $4 trillion valuation after solid results

July 31 (Reuters) - Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab soared past $4 trillion in market valuation on Thursday, becoming the second publicly traded company after Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab to surpass the milestone following a blockbuster earnings report. The technology behemoth forecast a record $30 billion in capital spending for the first quarter of the current fiscal year to meet soaring AI demand and reported booming sales in its Azure cloud computing business on Wednesday. "It is in the process of becoming more of a cloud infrastructure business and a leader in enterprise AI, doing so very profitably and cash generatively despite the heavy AI capital expenditures," said Gerrit Smit, lead portfolio manager, Stonehage Fleming Global Best Ideas Equity Fund. Redmond, Washington-headquartered Microsoft first cracked the $1-trillion mark in April 2019. Its move to $3 trillion was more measured than technology giants Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab and Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab, with AI-bellwether Nvidia tripling its value in just about a year and clinching the $4-trillion milestone before any other company on July 9. Lately, breakthroughs in trade talks between the United States and its trading partners ahead of President Donald Trump's August 1 tariff deadline have buoyed stocks, propelling the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to record highs. Microsoft's multibillion-dollar bet on OpenAI is proving to be a game changer, powering its Office Suite and Azure offerings with cutting-edge AI and fueling the stock to more than double its value since ChatGPT's late-2022 debut. Its capital expenditure forecast, its largest ever for a single quarter, has put it on track to potentially outspend its rivals over the next year. Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab also doubled down on its AI ambitions, forecasting third-quarter revenue that blew past Wall Street estimates as artificial intelligence supercharged its core advertising business. The social media giant upped the lower end of its annual capital spending by $2 billion - just days after Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab made a similar move - signaling that Silicon Valley's race to dominate the artificial-intelligence frontier is only accelerating. Wall Street's surging confidence in the company comes on the heels of back-to-back record revenues for the tech giant since September 2022. The stock's rally had also received an extra boost as the tech giant trimmed its workforce and doubled down on AI investments -- determined to cement its lead as businesses race to harness the technology. While sweeping U.S. tariffs had investors bracing for tighter business spending, Microsoft's strong earnings have shown that the company's books are yet to take a hit from the levies. Reporting by Medha Singh and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Mrigank Dhaniwala Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Microsoft reaches $4 trillion valuation after solid results

July 31 (Reuters) - Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab hit $4 trillion in stock market value on Thursday, becoming the second publicly traded company after Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab to surpass that milestone following a blockbuster earnings report that showed its massive bets on AI are paying off. Strong results from Microsoft and Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab late on Thursday also fueled gains in Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab and sent chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab to a record high, with the four heavyweight AI players gaining over half a trillion dollars in market value. Wall Street's heavyweight players leading in AI - Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab and Meta Platforms - now account for a quarter of the S&P 500, according to LSEG data. Microsoft forecast a record $30 billion in capital spending for the first quarter of the current fiscal year to meet soaring AI demand. It reported booming sales in its Azure cloud computing business and said its Copilot AI tools had surpassed 100 million monthly active users. Microsoft's shares were last up 4.5% after climbing as much as 8%. "It is in the process of becoming more of a cloud infrastructure business and a leader in enterprise AI, doing so very profitably and cash generatively despite the heavy AI capital expenditures," said Gerrit Smit, lead portfolio manager, Stonehage Fleming Global Best Ideas Equity Fund. Meta Platforms also doubled down on its AI ambitions, forecasting quarterly revenue that blew past Wall Street estimates as artificial intelligence supercharged its core advertising business. Redmond, Washington-headquartered Microsoft first reached a $1 trillion stock market value in 2019. Its move to $3 trillion was more measured than Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab and Apple's (AAPL.O), opens new tab, with AI-bellwether Nvidia tripling its value in just about a year and clinching the $4 trillion milestone on July 9. Apple was last valued at $3.12 trillion. Lately, breakthroughs in trade talks between the United States and its trading partners ahead of President Donald Trump's August 1 tariff deadline have buoyed stocks, propelling the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to record highs. Microsoft's multibillion-dollar bet on OpenAI is proving to be a game changer, powering its Office Suite and Azure offerings with cutting-edge AI and fueling the stock to more than double its value since ChatGPT's late-2022 debut. Its capital expenditure forecast, its largest ever for a single quarter, has put it on track to potentially outspend its rivals over the next year. Meta upped the lower end of its annual capital spending by $2 billion - just days after Alphabet made a similar move - signaling that Silicon Valley's race to dominate AI technology is accelerating. Cloud computing heavyweight Amazon.com (AMZN.O), opens new tab rose 2% ahead of its quarterly report after the bell. AI chip supplier Nvidia climbed 0.8%, lifting its market capitalization to a record $4.4 trillion. Reporting by Medha Singh and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru, and by Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Editing by Pooja Desai, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Marguerita Choy Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Artificial Intelligence Noel Randewich Thomson Reuters San Francisco correspondent covering the stock market with a focus on Big Tech, semiconductors and other Silicon Valley companies

Microsoft tops $4 trillion in market cap after hours, joining Nvidia in exclusive club

Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella speaks in front of the OpenAI logo at the Microsoft Build conference in Seattle, Washington, on May 19, 2025. The $4 trillion club has a second member, at least based on after-hours trading. Following a better-than-expected earnings report on Wednesday, Microsoft shares jumped 8%, lifting the software giant's market cap to about $4.1 trillion. Should the rally stick on Thursday, Microsoft would join chipmaker Nvidia, which hit $4 trillion for the first time earlier this month. Microsoft reported 18% revenue growth, its fastest rate of expansion in over three years, driven by its Azure cloud computing business. Microsoft disclosed Azure revenue in dollars for the first time, and said sales from Azure and other cloud services exceeded $75 billion in fiscal 2025, up 34% from the prior year. As of the close on Wednesday, Microsoft shares were up 22% for the year, topping the S&P 500's 8% gain. Microsoft hit a record close of $513.71 on July 25. The stock is above $553 in extended trading. Nvidia and Microsoft, two of the biggest beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence boom, have zoomed past Apple on the market cap leaderboard. Apple is third at about $3.2 billion, with its stock having fallen 17% this year as investors worry that the iPhone maker is getting left behind in AI. Apple reports quarterly results after the bell on Thursday. Among tech's megacaps, Nvidia has been the best performer in 2025, up 33%. The chipmaker's graphics processing units (GPUs) are the backbone of the large language models being developed by Microsoft, OpenAI, Google, Meta and others, and they're filling up data centers being built by those same companies. Nvidia is scheduled to report results in late August.

Microsoft reaches $4 trillion valuation -- for a moment, at least -- after big earnings report

Microsoft's market value touched $4 trillion for the first time, becoming only the second U.S. company to cross the milestone, as investors reacted positively to stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and growing momentum in AI and cloud computing. Shares rose more than 4% in early trading Thursday, with Microsoft's valuation hovering just above or below the $4 trillion mark moment by moment. The company's shares are up more than 28% over the past year. Analysts' comments were so effusive that they read like movie-poster blurbs. * "I've been covering Microsoft for a while -- I don't think I've ever seen a quarter where everything came together this well," said Keith Weiss, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, on the company's earnings call. * It was a "slam dunk quarter" as Microsoft "delivered a Scottie Scheffler-like performance," wrote Wedbush analyst Dan Ives in a note to clients, continuing his recent habit of likening the company to the world's top golfer -- while mixing in a basketball metaphor for good measure. * Microsoft Azure quarterly growth of 39% "crushed expectations," wrote William Blair analyst Jason Ader in a note to clients, adding that the results "instill greater confidence in Microsoft's expanding enterprise footprint." The $4 trillion milestone cements Microsoft's position as the world's second-most valuable company, behind Nvidia, which has seen the AI boom push its market cap above $4.4 trillion. Azure revenue topped $75 billion for the year, up 34% annually from the prior year, driven by demand for AI services and "growth across all workloads," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in the company's earnings release. Microsoft plans to invest more than $30 billion in capital expenditures in the current quarter -- a new high -- as it expands cloud and AI capacity to keep pace with rivals Amazon and Google. At the same time, Microsoft's global headcount held steady at 228,000 over the past year. That reflected an initial round of layoffs in May, prior to larger cutbacks in July, even as the company continues to hire in some areas. "Bottom line, Microsoft is exhibiting very strong cost control," wrote UBS analyst Karl Keirstead, citing its efforts to keep its operating margins strong by managing its headcount even as it spends billions on AI infrastructure. UBS analysts drew a connection between Microsoft's rising capital spending and Azure's accelerating growth. They noted that while the company attributed the gains largely to core, non-AI demand such as enterprise migrations, the two-quarter jump in Azure growth -- from 31% to 39% -- was "so material that we can't help but wonder if Azure is getting an incremental boost from Microsoft standing up materially more GPU infrastructure." Microsoft is no longer disclosing the percentage-point contribution of AI to its cloud growth, saying that the distinction between AI and other cloud workloads is increasingly difficult to define.

Microsoft's in the $4 trillion club. Why Big Tech may have a problem.

Why it matters: With all but one member of the Magnificent 7 racing toward this record-high valuation, investors are growing uneasy about just how far Big Tech can run -- and at what cost. Driving the news: Meta and Microsoft reported blowout quarterly earnings results late Wednesday, exceeding Wall Street's best estimates for earnings growth and guidance. * The subsequent stock rally brought Microsoft's market cap above $4 trillion. * Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, Microsoft's stock is up 110%, vastly outpacing the broader market's 56% gain in the same time period. Be smart: It's hard to visualize $4 trillion, but let's try. * If Nvidia and Microsoft were countries, they'd have the fourth and fifth largest GDPs in the world, respectively. * Nvidia is worth the equivalent of 14% of the U.S. GDP. * If you stacked $4 trillion in $100 bills, you could reach the edge of space and back 10 times. What they're saying: "These massive results seen by Microsoft and Meta further validate the use cases and unprecedented spending trajectory for the AI Revolution," Dan Ives wrote in a note to clients. * Nvidia and Microsoft are the poster children of the AI revolution, Ives said, though broadly tech stocks are poised to continue moving higher over the next 12 to 18 months. Zoom in: With Microsoft trading at 40 times forward earnings, some investors are ringing alarm bells, saying the stock is too expensive based on its earnings trajectory. * Tech bulls like Ives would argue that if you worry about valuations, you'll always miss tech revolutions, as historically these stocks tend to get overvalued on a price basis. Yes, but: Overvalued stocks are often the first to correct in a market downturn, David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan, tells Axios. * "The most lofty tech companies are very exposed to something going wrong here," he said, noting he sees a "significant correction" coming for the market given valuations at these levels. What we're watching: Valuation concerns aren't stopping investors from pushing other Big Tech names closer to the $4 trillion club. * Apple is the closest based on price, but its stock is down over 14% year to date. * With the company set to report earnings Thursday evening, the bar is now even higher for a winning AI story, which Apple has so far failed to deliver. * Amazon is behind Apple, though it needs an additional $1.5 trillion added to its market cap to catch up. The bottom line: When companies get as big as major global economies, valuation concerns are natural.

Microsoft becomes second public company to reach $4tn valuation amid AI boom

The technology company surpassed the milestone after chipmaker Nvidia hit the $4tn mark earlier this month Microsoft soared past $4tn in market valuation on Thursday, becoming the second publicly traded company after Nvidia to surpass the milestone after a blockbuster earnings report the night before. Microsoft, headquartered in Redmond, Washington, first cracked the $1tn mark in April 2019. Its move to $3tn was more measured than technology giants Nvidia and Apple, with the chipmaker tripling its value in just about a year and clinching the $4tn milestone before any other company on 9 July. The technology behemoth reported booming sales in its Azure cloud computing business on Wednesday and forecast a record $30bn in capital spending for the first quarter of the current fiscal year to meet soaring AI demand. "It is in the process of becoming more of a cloud infrastructure business and a leader in enterprise AI, doing so very profitably and cash generatively despite the heavy AI capital expenditures," said Gerrit Smit, lead portfolio manager at Stonehage Fleming Global Best Ideas Equity Fund. Lately, breakthroughs in trade talks between the US and its trading partners ahead of Donald Trump's 1 August tariff deadline have buoyed stocks, propelling the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq exchanges to record highs. Its capital expenditure forecast, its largest ever for a single quarter, has put it on track to potentially outspend its rivals over the next year. Meta Platforms also doubled down on its AI ambitions in its earnings call Wednesday, forecasting third-quarter revenue that blew past Wall Street estimates as artificial intelligence supercharged its core advertising business. The social media giant upped the lower end of its annual capital spending by $2bn - just days after Alphabet made a similar move. Wall Street's surging confidence in Microsoft comes on the heels of back-to-back record revenues for the tech giant since September 2022. The stock's rally had also received an extra boost as the tech giant trimmed its workforce, laying off thousands in recent months, and doubled down on AI investments determined to cement its lead as businesses race to harness the technology.

Microsoft climbs to $4 trillion in after-hours trading on blowout earnings

Microsoft delivered a blockbuster quarter to close its 2025 fiscal year, riding the wave of surging demand for cloud and AI services and sending its stock to new heights in after-hours trading. For the quarter ended June 30, 2025, Microsoft reported revenue of $76.4 billion, an 18% jump over the previous year. Net income climbed even more swiftly, up 24% to $27.2 billion. Earnings per share reached $3.65, outpacing analyst estimates of $3.37. "In our largest quarter of the year," CEO Satya Nadella told analysts on the subsequent earnings call, "we significantly exceeded expectations." Investors responded decisively to the upbeat results and bullish AI outlook. Microsoft's shares spiked over 7% in after-hours trading, pushing the stock toward record highs and lifting Microsoft's market capitalization past the $4 trillion mark -- cementing its place as one of just two companies to reach that level globally, along with Nvidia. The reaction underscored Wall Street's confidence in Microsoft's strategy, particularly its aggressive investments in cloud infrastructure and its push to commercialize AI tools such as Copilot across its productivity and developer platforms. Nadella was emphatic in the earnings press release: "Cloud and AI is the driving force of business transformation across every industry and sector. We're innovating across the tech stack to help customers adapt and grow in this new era." On the subsequent earnings call, one analyst expressed surprise at the size of the results. "Satya, back to the strength across the board in the quarter... It's just the magnitude of upside that has shocked many here." To that point, the company's Intelligent Cloud segment -- home to Azure -- generated $29.9 billion in revenue, up a robust 26%. Azure and other cloud services revenue soared 39% for the quarter, while annual Azure revenue surpassed $75 billion, growing 34% year-over-year. Nadella cited major enterprise customers leveraging both traditional and AI-powered workloads on Azure, highlighting that this is no longer just about experimentation -- companies are moving quickly to deploy AI at scale. Nadella claimed on the analyst call that "we continue to lead the AI infrastructure wave and gained market share every quarter this year," noting that Microsoft operates more data centers than any other cloud provider, having opened new facilities across six continents. He said it operates over 400 data centers across 70 regions. The Productivity and Business Processes segment, anchored by Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn, generated $33.1 billion (+16%), and More Personal Computing brought in $13.5 billion (+9%), bolstered by a rebound in devices demand and rising Xbox content revenue. Throughout fiscal 2025, Microsoft amassed $281.7 billion in revenue (+15%) and $101.8 billion in net income (+16%). The company also returned $9.4 billion to shareholders in the fourth quarter through dividends and buybacks. CFO Amy Hood emphasized Microsoft's operational discipline and the scaling of AI investments, and revealed on the earnings call that the company expects over $30 billion of capital expenditure for the first quarter of 2026, "driven by the continued strong demand signals we see. When asked about the return on investment on this massive spending, Hood responded that Microsoft has $368 billion of contracted backlog across the "breadth of the Microsoft Cloud," not just Azure. She added that she feels very confident that this spending is "directly tied to business that is already contracted and on the books -- and that we need to deliver." Hood also reassured employees and investors of the company's forward momentum, noting in an internal post-earnings memo, as reported by Business Insider, that "FY26 will require intensity, clarity, and bold execution," reflecting both the opportunities and competitive pressures ahead as Microsoft doubles down on AI and security priorities.

Microsoft hits a $4 trillion market cap, joining Nvidia

Microsoft blew past $4 trillion in market value early Thursday, joining Nvidia as the only public companies ever to hit that milestone -- and making it look almost routine in the process. Shares jumped nearly 8% after the company reported a blowout quarter: $76.7 billion in revenue, up 18%, and net income up 24% to $27.2 billion. Azure, Microsoft's cloud crown jewel, grew 34% year-over-year -- and for the first time, Microsoft gave investors what they'd been asking for: a real number. Azure now brings in $75 billion annually. No estimates. No opacity. Just scale. That was enough to push Microsoft over the $4 trillion line in after-hours trading, where it stayed through market open -- staking the company's claim not just as a leader in enterprise AI but as the backbone of it. While Nvidia has built the chips, Microsoft is building the moat. Its AI push is no longer theoretical: Generative tools are being hardwired into its Office suite, Teams, GitHub, and Azure cloud services. Copilot is showing up in Word and Excel. Enterprise contracts are shifting to AI-first. And the price tag? Massive. Microsoft plans to spend $30 billion in capex next quarter alone -- a $120 billion annual run rate -- to expand its AI infrastructure footprint (by funding more data centers, more GPUs, and more power-hungry cloud capacity to support its growing customer base). That kind of outlay might typically spook investors. But when it's funding 39% Azure growth and feeding directly into enterprise AI deployment, it's a very different story. Microsoft's stock is now up nearly 30% on the year -- and it's not even the hottest thing in tech. That title belongs to Nvidia, which passed $4 trillion first. According to Wedbush Securities' Dan Ives, "the race to $4 trillion has begun," as he titled a June client note where he called both companies the poster children for the AI revolution. He said Microsoft and Nvidia would each cross the $4 trillion mark this summer -- they did -- and that $5 trillion will be the next frontier. "This tech bull market is still early," Ives wrote, and AI is its driving engine. "Both are foundational pieces of building on the biggest tech trend we have seen in our 25 years covering tech stocks on the Street." Microsoft's growth isn't driven by a single product but a platform shift -- one that touches nearly every layer of the modern enterprise stack. It's also more transparent than it used to be: CFO Amy Hood said the company has increased headcount every quarter since late 2023. It's a new look for Microsoft: bigger, bolder, and less shy about leading the market. The markets like what they see. Microsoft's results -- along with Meta smashing Q2 expectations -- have helped lift the broader tech sector, sending the Nasdaq Composite up and extending a Big Tech rally. There are still risks, of course. Antitrust regulators are circling, particularly around Microsoft's integration of OpenAI and its bundling of AI features into its enterprise software. Competition from Amazon and Google is still fierce. But the overall message this quarter was clear: AI isn't just a narrative, and Microsoft isn't just tagging along. It's engineering the stack. With Nvidia already in the $4 trillion club, Microsoft's milestone is less about bragging rights and more about momentum. The company has successfully transformed itself into the AI backbone of the corporate world. If the current trajectory holds, $5 trillion may not be a question of if -- but when.

Microsoft valuation surges above $4 trillion as AI lifts stocks

Shares of Microsoft spiked Thursday following blowout quarterly results, lifting the tech giant into the previously unprecedented $4 trillion club along with Nvidia, another artificial intelligence standout. The landmark valuation is the latest sign of growing bullishness about an AI investment boom that market watchers believe is still in the early stages -- even as companies like Microsoft plan $100 billion or more in annual capital spending to add new capacity. Microsoft reported profit of $27.2 billion on revenue of $76.4 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter, capping another year of growth amid massive customer interest in the company's cutting-edge AI capacity. Shortly after midday, Microsoft shares were up 4.3%, giving it a market capitalization slightly under $4 trillion after earlier eclipsing the benchmark. "Cloud and AI is the driving force of business transformation across every industry and sector," said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. "We're innovating across the tech stack to help customers adapt and grow in this new era." The results drew plaudits from Wall Street analysts on an earnings conference call at which Nadella boasted that the company had opened new data centers across six continents in the last year and touted major contracts for global companies like Nestle and Barclays. Microsoft was one of the first tech giants to double down on artificial intelligence when the launch of ChatGPT in 2022 rocked the tech industry. Microsoft has had a strategic partnership with ChatGPT maker OpenAI since 2019, holding rights to its intellectual property. At the heart of the results was a stunning 39% surge in Azure, the company's legacy cloud computing platform, which is getting "supercharged" with AI, said Angelo Zino, technology analyst at CFRA Research. Zino attributed "just about all of" Microsoft's recent surge in valuation to AI. Legacy businesses While Nvidia is part of a wave of tech companies that have risen to prominence with the AI boom of the last few years, Microsoft has long been among America's corporate elite, joining the prestigious Dow index in 1999, more than a decade after introducing the once-revolutionary Windows program. The company's revenue base includes such workplace mainstays as the Outlook email platform and the LinkedIn career website. Microsoft also has a significant gaming division with the Xbox console. All of these businesses are set to benefit from Microsoft's AI advantages. "We view (Microsoft) as kind of the enterprise king," said Zino. "What AI does is it provides new growth opportunities for this company." For all of fiscal 2025, Microsoft reported revenues of $281.7 billion, up 15% from the prior year. Microsoft's revenues have more than doubled from 2018, when they were $110.4 billion. Zino thinks Microsoft is poised for a comparable run over the next six or seven years when it could see annual revenue growth of 10% as greater use of AI creates even more opportunity. The biggest risk to this outlook -- and to the AI boom generally -- would be "if we get to the point where supply for AI exceeds demand," Zino said. "That could put pressure on pricing for cloud computing and space."

Microsoft valuation surges above $4 trillion as AI lifts stocks

New York (AFP) - Shares of Microsoft spiked Thursday following blowout quarterly results, lifting the tech giant into the previously unprecedented $4 trillion club along with Nvidia, another artificial intelligence standout. The landmark valuation is the latest sign of growing bullishness about an AI investment boom that market watchers believe is still in the early stages -- even as companies like Microsoft plan $100 billion or more in annual capital spending to add new capacity. Microsoft reported profit of $27.2 billion on revenue of $76.4 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter, capping another year of growth amid massive customer interest in the company's cutting-edge AI capacity. Shortly after midday, Microsoft shares were up 4.3 percent, giving it a market capitalization slightly under $4 trillion after earlier eclipsing the benchmark. "Cloud and AI is the driving force of business transformation across every industry and sector," said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. "We're innovating across the tech stack to help customers adapt and grow in this new era." The results drew plaudits from Wall Street analysts on an earnings conference call at which Nadella boasted that the company had opened new data centers across six continents in the last year and touted major contracts for global companies like Nestle and Barclays. Microsoft was one of the first tech giants to double down on artificial intelligence when the launch of ChatGPT in 2022 rocked the tech industry. Microsoft has had a strategic partnership with ChatGPT maker OpenAI since 2019, holding rights to its intellectual property. At the heart of the results was a stunning 39 percent surge in Azure, the company's legacy cloud computing platform, which is getting "supercharged" with AI, said Angelo Zino, technology analyst at CFRA Research. Zino attributed "just about all of" Microsoft's recent surge in valuation to AI. Legacy businesses While Nvidia is part of a wave of tech companies that have risen to prominence with the AI boom of the last few years, Microsoft has long been among America's corporate elite, joining the prestigious Dow index in 1999, more than a decade after introducing the once-revolutionary Windows program. The company's revenue base includes such workplace mainstays as the Outlook email platform and the LinkedIn career website. Microsoft also has a significant gaming division with the Xbox console. All of these businesses are set to benefit from Microsoft's AI advantages. "We view (Microsoft) as kind of the enterprise king," said Zino. "What AI does is it provides new growth opportunities for this company." For all of fiscal 2025, Microsoft reported revenues of $281.7 billion, up 15 percent from the prior year. Microsoft's revenues have more than doubled from 2018, when they were $110.4 billion. Zino thinks Microsoft is poised for a comparable run over the next six or seven years when it could see annual revenue growth of 10 percent as greater use of AI creates even more opportunity. The biggest risk to this outlook -- and to the AI boom generally -- would be "if we get to the point where supply for AI exceeds demand," Zino said. "That could put pressure on pricing for cloud computing and space."

Microsoft surpasses $4 trillion valuation after stellar earnings

Microsoft revealed for the first time that Azure, the engine of its AI ambitions, now pulls in more than €65 billion a year -- cheering investors. Microsoft surpassed $4 trillion in market capitalisation on Thursday's market opening after it published stellar fourth quarter earnings the previous day. The firm announced that annual revenue for its flagship Azure cloud computing platform surpassed $75 billion or around €64.9 billion, a staggering 34% jump from last year. The Azure cloud business is a centrepiece of Microsoft's efforts to shift its focus to artificial intelligence, but until Wednesday, the firm had not lifted the veil on how much money it makes. The revelation beat Wall Street expectations and pleased investors wary about Microsoft's ongoing construction of costly new data centres needed to meet cloud computing and AI demand. Microsoft's fiscal fourth-quarter profit was $34.3 billion (€2.8 billion), or $3.65 (€3.19) per share, beating analyst expectations for $3.37 (€2.95) per share. The software giant's end-of-year earnings report also showed a 24% spike in the company's quarterly profit. "We continue to scale our own data center capacity faster than any other competitor," CEO Satya Nadella said on an investor call, boasting that the company now has more than 400 of the sprawling facilities across six continents. As a cloud computing platform -- which means providing computing power, storage, and tools over the internet instead of on local servers -- Microsoft Azure offers businesses and institutions a way to run websites and apps, store and back up data, and analyse massive datasets. It can also be used for artificial intelligence projects, giving organisations the infrastructure to build, train, and deploy AI models at scale. In short, Azure lets companies innovate and grow without the cost and complexity of maintaining their own hardware. Microsoft launched Azure more than a decade ago, but the service has increasingly become intertwined with its AI ambitions, as the company looks to sell its AI chatbot and other tools to big business customers that are also reliant on its core online services. It still trails behind its lead competitor, Amazon Web Services, which reported $107.6 billion or about €94 billion in revenue for its fiscal year that ended in December. Building the infrastructure to power cloud and AI technology is expensive, and Microsoft has looked for savings elsewhere. It announced layoffs of about 15,000 workers this year even as its profits have soared. Nadella told employees last week the layoffs were "weighing heavily" on him but also positioned them as an opportunity to reimagine the company's mission for an AI era. Still, the overall workforce numbers haven't changed. The company said it employed 228,000 full-time employees as of June 30, the exact same amount it reported a year ago, though slightly more of them are now US-based and fewer of them are in product support roles or consulting services. Promises of a leaner approach have been welcomed on Wall Street, especially as Microsoft and other tech giants are trying to justify huge amounts of capital spending to pay for the data centres, chips and other components required to power AI technology. Microsoft didn't disclose Wednesday to what extent sweeping US tariffs are affecting its revenue, but its annual report lists tariffs among a number of risks the company faces. "Increased geopolitical instabilities and changing US administration priorities create an unpredictable trade landscape," the company said. It also said the "volatility of US tariffs has triggered economic uncertainty and could impact cloud and devices supply chain cost competitiveness".

Microsoft briefly becomes the second company to hit $4 trillion in market value

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.Mark Kauzlarich / Bloomberg via Getty Images file Shares of tech giants Meta and Microsoft were soaring Thursday, with the two companies adding a combined $400 billion to their market values. The two companies together are worth more than JPMorgan Chase, America's largest bank, or Walmart, the country's largest retailer, more than seven times over. For Microsoft, its value briefly crossed $4 trillion, making it only the second company ever to reach that milestone after Nvidia. The company's market value retreated slightly to $3.97 trillion at the close of trading for the day. Facebook and Instagram's parent company, Meta, is now on the verge of crossing $2 trillion. Meta shares closed 11.25% higher with Microsoft shares up about 5%. The soaring stock prices come on the heels of better-than-expected financial results, fueled in part by the artificial intelligence revolution. Meta and Microsoft have each added $200 billion to their market value since Wednesday's close. Microsoft reported that in the last three months revenue rose 18% to $76 billion, and said it plans to spend more than $30 billion in just the next three months, the majority of which will likely go to the continued expansion of its cloud services to support booming AI usage. Meta said its revenue surged 22% to almost $50 billion. The number of people who use Meta's services on a daily basis is now almost 3.5 billion, the company said in a statement. Meta said its total expenses for 2025 will be between $114 billion and $118 billion, much of that likely going to investing in AI and its fleet of data centers around the world to power it all. Investors will be closely watching another major artificial intelligence player on Thursday afternoon, when Amazon reports its earnings. Amazon's value currently sits just below $2.5 trillion and its stock was higher by around 2% on hopes that it too will see blockbuster results. So far this year, shares of Nvidia have soared 30% and Microsoft's have risen 27%. Meta is also riding the AI wave higher, with its stock seeing a gain of 32% this year. By contrast, Apple, which was the first company to ever hit $1 trillion, $2 trillion and $3 trillion, has been sinking this year. The iPhone maker's shares are down 18% as investors and analysts worry that its AI ambitions may be falling short of others such as OpenAI and Microsoft, even though the company often takes a wait-and-see approach to new technologies. Shares of Alphabet, another trillion-dollar tech giant trying to compete in the AI space, are up only 1.5% for the year. The company has the third-largest cloud service, behind Amazon and Microsoft, and has faced concerns that use of its Google search engine could be declining due to the rise of chatbots like ChatGPT. In May, an Apple executive testifying in Google's antitrust trial said traditional searches in Apple's Safari browser dropped for the first time ever in April. Google said it continues "to see overall query growth in Search." At the end of 2023, the total market value of all publicly traded companies in the European Union was about $12.5 trillion. Apple, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft's values are currently just short of that, at $11.4 trillion.

Microsoft crushes earnings expectations and its market cap soars above $4T - SiliconANGLE

Microsoft crushes earnings expectations and its market cap soars above $4T Shares of Microsoft Corp. gained more than 9% in extended trading today after the company delivered solid earnings and revenue that came in above expectations. The after-hours increase lifted the company's market capitalization above the $4 trillion milestone, trailing in the wake of Nvidia Corp., which passed that barrier earlier this month. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings before certain costs such as stock compensation of $3.65 per share, easily beating the $3.37 per share analyst target. Revenue for the period rose 18% to $76.44 billion, surpassing Wall Street's consensus estimate of $73.81 billion. All told, Microsoft posted net income of $27.2 billion, up from $22.03 billion in the year ago period. For the first time, Microsoft also disclosed the value of its Azure cloud computing business in dollars. It said the unit delivered more than $75 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025, up 34% from a year ago. The Azure cloud business is a part of Microsoft's Intelligent Cloud division, which generated $29.88 billion in revenue in the previous quarter, up 26% from a year ago and above the Street's target of $28.92 billion. Revenue from Azure grew 34% during that period, though Microsoft didn't break out quarterly sales figures. Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood also offered strong guidance for the company's next quarter, saying she expects revenue of between $74.7 billion and $75.8 billion. The middle of that range came in ahead of Wall Street's forecast of $74.09 billion. In addition, Hood said the company sees Azure revenue growing by around 37%, ahead of the analyst's consensus of 33.7%. The forecast implies an operating margin of 46.6%, which is also wider than the analyst's 45.7% estimate. According to Hood, Microsoft will spend more than $30 billion in capital expenditures during the first quarter, which suggests growth of around 50% compared to the same period last year. She told analysts on a conference call that the company's capex will continue to grow in fiscal 2026, but not as fast as it did in the previous year. One reason for the ongoing expenditure is that Microsoft continues to struggle to meet the data center capacity demands of its customers, due to sky-high interest in artificial intelligence models. "In January I said I thought we'd be in a better supply-demand shape by June," Hood told analysts on the call. "And now I'm saying I hope I'm in a better place by December." Elsewhere in Microsoft's business, the Productivity and Business Process segment, which accounts for the Office software suite and LinkedIn, generated $33.11 billion in sales during the quarter, surpassing the Street's $32.12 billion estimate. Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella (pictured) talked about how the company's AI bet, including its sizable investment in OpenAI and billions of dollars' worth of Nvidia chips, is helping to boost software sales in this unit. He said the integration of Microsoft 365 Copilot with its productivity tools has resulted in a noticeably higher revenue per user for products such as Office. In total, there are now more than 100 million monthly active users of Copilot tools including the Microsoft 365 Copilot for commercial customers and the Copilot consumer assistant in Windows. Valoir analyst Rebecca Wettemann told SiliconANGLE that Nadella's comments are encouraging, but said the company is still perceived to be struggling with a lack of traction in comparison to some of its rivals. "Microsoft has been slower to get AI traction than some competitors," the analyst said. "As competitors start to trot out enterprise references and talk about adoption numbers, Microsoft will need to follow suit to battle perceptions that Copilot is still too expensive for broad adoption by its customers." Nonetheless, Wettemann believes today's results show that Microsoft's data center infrastructure investments are paying off, even if its own AI offerings are a question mark. "But with that said, we'll still be looking for guidance on how much it continues to spend moving forward, as well as how it will navigate the OpenAI partnership moving forward," she added. Meanwhile, the More Personal Computing unit, which includes Windows, devices, search advertising and video games revenue, saw sales hit $13.45 billion in the prior quarter, up 9% from a year ago and above the Street's target of $12.68 billion. Sales of Windows operating licenses and devices increased 3% during the quarter, but investors may have been slightly disappointed to hear that number, considering Gartner Inc. recently estimated that PC shipments rose 4.4% over the same period. During the quarter, Microsoft's capex rose 2% from a year ago to $24.2 billion, as it continues to race to build out its data center infrastructure for AI customers. A further $1.71 billion was spent on other expenses in the quarter, including losses on equity method investments such as OpenAI. It has not all been good news at Microsoft, though. Earlier this month, the company revealed that it's going to lay off around 9,000 employees, or approximately 4% of its total workforce, with most of the cuts coming in its video game division. Those layoffs are said to be a result of changes in the way the company distributes its popular Xbox games console in Europe. In addition to Microsoft's core Xbox team, the cuts also impacted a number of game development studios operated by the company. As of today's market close, Microsoft's stock had gained 22% in the year to date, comparing well with the broader S&P 500 Index, which is up just 8% in the same period.

Microsoft crushes the Street's expectations and its market cap soars above $4 trillion - SiliconANGLE

Microsoft crushes the Street's expectations and its market cap soars above $4 trillion Shares of Microsoft Corp. gained more than 9% in extended trading today after the company delivered solid earnings and revenue that came in above expectations. The after-hours increase lifted the company's market capitalization above the $4 trillion milestone, trailing in the wake of Nvidia Corp., which passed that barrier earlier this month. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings before certain costs such as stock compensation of $3.65 per share, easily beating the $3.37 per share analyst target. Revenue for the period rose 18% to $76.44 billion, surpassing Wall Street's consensus estimate of $73.81 billion. All told, Microsoft posted net income of $27.2 billion, up from $22.03 billion in the year ago period. For the first time, Microsoft also disclosed the value of its Azure cloud computing business in dollars. It said the unit delivered more than $75 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025, up 34% from a year ago. The Azure cloud business is a part of Microsoft's Intelligent Cloud division, which generated $29.88 billion in revenue in the previous quarter, up 26% from a year ago and above the Street's target of $28.92 billion. Revenue from Azure grew 34% during that period, though Microsoft didn't break out quarterly sales figures. Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood also offered strong guidance for the company's next quarter, saying she expects revenue of between $74.7 billion and $75.8 billion. The middle of that range came in ahead of Wall Street's forecast of $74.09 billion. In addition, Hood said the company sees Azure revenue growing by around 37%, ahead of the analyst's consensus of 33.7%. The forecast implies an operating margin of 46.6%, which is also wider than the analyst's 45.7% estimate. According to Hood, Microsoft will spend more than $30 billion in capital expenditures during the first quarter, which suggests growth of around 50% compared to the same period last year. She told analysts on a conference call that the company's capex will continue to grow in fiscal 2026, but not as fast as it did in the previous year. One reason for the ongoing expenditure is that Microsoft continues to struggle to meet the data center capacity demands of its customers, due to sky-high interest in artificial intelligence models. "In January I said I thought we'd be in a better supply-demand shape by June," Hood told analysts on the call. "And now I'm saying I hope I'm in a better place by December." Elsewhere in Microsoft's business, the Productivity and Business Process segment, which accounts for the Office software suite and LinkedIn, generated $33.11 billion in sales during the quarter, surpassing the Street's $32.12 billion estimate. Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella (pictured) talked about how the company's AI bet, including its sizable investment in OpenAI and billions of dollars' worth of Nvidia chips, is helping to boost software sales in this unit. He said the integration of Microsoft 365 Copilot with its productivity tools has resulted in a noticeably higher revenue per user for products such as Office. In total, there are now more than 100 million monthly active users of Copilot tools including the Microsoft 365 Copilot for commercial customers and the Copilot consumer assistant in Windows. Valoir analyst Rebecca Wettemann told SiliconANGLE that Nadella's comments are encouraging, but said the company is still perceived to be struggling with a lack of traction in comparison to some of its rivals. "Microsoft has been slower to get AI traction than some competitors," the analyst said. "As competitors start to trot out enterprise references and talk about adoption numbers, Microsoft will need to follow suit to battle perceptions that Copilot is still too expensive for broad adoption by its customers." Nonetheless, Wettemann believes today's results show that Microsoft's data center infrastructure investments are paying off, even if its own AI offerings are a question mark. "But with that said, we'll still be looking for guidance on how much it continues to spend moving forward, as well as how it will navigate the OpenAI partnership moving forward," she added. Meanwhile, the More Personal Computing unit, which includes Windows, devices, search advertising and video games revenue, saw sales hit $13.45 billion in the prior quarter, up 9% from a year ago and above the Street's target of $12.68 billion. Sales of Windows operating licenses and devices increased 3% during the quarter, but investors may have been slightly disappointed to hear that number, considering Gartner Inc. recently estimated that PC shipments rose 4.4% over the same period. During the quarter, Microsoft's capex rose 2% from a year ago to $24.2 billion, as it continues to race to build out its data center infrastructure for AI customers. A further $1.71 billion was spent on other expenses in the quarter, including losses on equity method investments such as OpenAI. It has not all been good news at Microsoft, though. Earlier this month, the company revealed that it's going to lay off around 9,000 employees, or approximately 4% of its total workforce, with most of the cuts coming in its video game division. Those layoffs are said to be a result of changes in the way the company distributes its popular Xbox games console in Europe. In addition to Microsoft's core Xbox team, the cuts also impacted a number of game development studios operated by the company. As of today's market close, Microsoft's stock had gained 22% in the year to date, comparing well with the broader S&P 500 Index, which is up just 8% in the same period.

Microsoft is now worth over $4 trn, becoming only second firm ever to pass milestone

While sweeping US tariffs had investors worried about tighter business spending, Microsoft's strong earnings have shown that the company's books are yet to take a hit. Microsoft has become only the second publicly traded company after Nvidia to surpass $4 trn (£3.03trn) in market valuation, after registering huge earnings. On Thursday, shares rose on Wall Street with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq climbing to new record highs. Stocks in Microsoft jumped after posting better-than-expected results, helped by its Azure cloud computing platform, which is a centrepiece of the company's artificial intelligence (AI) efforts. Nvidia tripled its value in just about a year and clinched the $4trn milestone before any other company on 9 July. Apple was last valued at $3.12trn. In comparison, the biggest UK company by market value is drug manufacturer AstraZeneca, worth $235.97bn (£178.55bn). Companies ranked by market value (USD), according to tradingview.com 1. Nvidia (US) $4.43trn 2. Microsoft (US) $4trn 3. Apple (US) $3.12trn 4. Amazon (US) $2.47trn 5. Alphabet (US) $2.35trn 6. Meta (US) $1.95trn 7. Saudi Arabian Oil (Saudi Arabia) $1.56trn 8. Broadcom (US) $1.42trn 9. Berkshire Hathaway (US) $1.03trn 10. Tesla (US) $1.02trn 11. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (Taiwan) $1trn 29. Samsung Electronics (South Korea) $338.06bn 36. Alibaba (China) $284.62bn 52. AstraZeneca (UK) $235.97bn While sweeping US tariffs had investors worried about tighter business spending, Microsoft's strong earnings have shown that the company's books are yet to take a hit. Microsoft's multibillion-dollar bet on OpenAI is proving to be a game changer, powering its Office Suite and Azure offerings with cutting-edge AI and fueling the stock to more than double its value since ChatGPT's late-2022 debut. Read more from Sky News: Microsoft beats Nvidia by market value Trump unveils AI action plan UK ramps up AI adoption with Meta On Wednesday, the firm announced Azure sales surpassed $75bn (£56bn) on an annual basis, while Azure revenue jumped 39% in the April-June quarter. Overall revenue rose 18% to $76.4bn (£57.81bn) over the same period. It is also forecasting a record $30bn (£22.7bn) in capital spending over the first quarter to meet soaring AI demand..

Microsoft crosses $4 trillion after strong earnings

Microsoft became the second company in the world on Thursday to surpass a market value of $4 trillion after posting strong quarterly earnings. The tech giant's stock jumped 7 percent when markets opened Thursday morning, boosting the company's market capitalization above $4 trillion for the first time. It joins Nvidia, which became the first company to cross the historic threshold earlier this month. Microsoft's stock is booming after reporting $76.4 billion in revenue for the three-month period between April and June, up 18 percent from the same time last year, and $27.2 billion in net income, up 24 percent year-over-year. Most notably, the company's cloud computing platform Azure surpassed $75 billion in revenue for the fiscal year, up 39 percent year-over-year in the last quarter. Amy Hood, Microsoft's chief financial officer, also announced on a Wednesday evening earning call that the company plans to spend $30 billion on capital spending in the next quarter. "Cloud and AI is the driving force of business transformation across every industry and sector," Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft, said in a statement. Meta also posted strong quarterly results on Wednesday, resulting in a 12 percent jump in its stock price Thursday morning. The social media giant behind Instagram and Facebook reported a 36 percent year-over-year increase in net income and a 22 percent jump in revenue. Susan Li, Meta's chief financial officer, noted in her outlook that the company expects its total capital spending for 2025 to fall between $66 billion and $72 billion, followed by another year of "significant" spending in 2026. "While the infrastructure planning process remains highly dynamic, we currently expect another year of similarly significant capital expenditures dollar growth in 2026 as we continue aggressively pursuing opportunities to bring additional capacity online to meet the needs of our artificial intelligence efforts and business operations," Li wrote.

Microsoft Joins Nvidia in $4 Trillion Club

Microsoft (MSFT) on Thursday became the second company in history to reach a $4 trillion market value as tech stock prices continued to climb on booming AI demand. Microsoft's stock popped 7% at the open, putting its market capitalization at $4.09 trillion, after the company's fiscal fourth-quarter results blew past expectations on strong growth in all of its businesses, but especially in its cloud computing and AI services. Microsoft's entry into the $4 trillion club comes just weeks after Nvidia (NVDA) became the first company to reach the milestone. Its market cap briefly crossed $4 trillion in intraday trading on July 9, but it wasn't until July 10 that it closed above the threshold. Microsoft was already America's second most valuable company, worth nearly $2 trillion, when the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 sparked an AI frenzy in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street. But surging demand for AI and cloud computing has turbocharged Microsoft's growth in the last three years. The company on Wednesday reported 2025 fiscal-year revenue of close to $282 billion, up from $198 billion in the fiscal year before ChatGPT, and net income of $102 billion, up from $73 billion. With about 7.4 billion shares outstanding, Microsoft stock will need to close at or above $538.13 to stay in the $4 trillion club. Shares were up 5% just above $539 in recent trading.

Microsoft Just Became the Second Company in History to Achieve a $4 Trillion Valuation

Nvidia became the first ever company to hit $4 trillion in market value (and just earlier this month), and now Microsoft is joining the AI chipmaker in the exclusive $4 trillion club. Microsoft reported better-than-expected earnings on Wednesday, causing shares to jump 8%, and elevating the company's market capitalization to around $4.1 trillion. As of the time of writing, Microsoft sustained the growth with a market value of $4.03 trillion, with shares up about 5% on Thursday morning. Related: Microsoft Executive Says Using AI Has Saved $500 Million in Productivity Costs, as the Company Conducts Mass Layoffs Both Microsoft and fellow AI giant Meta added a combined $440 billion in market value late Wednesday, with Meta's earnings driving a 9% surge in its market capitalization in after-hours trading. Both companies surpassed analyst expectations with strong financial results on Wednesday, revealing that Big Tech's AI investments are paying off. Microsoft's Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood told investors in an earnings call on Wednesday that the company planned to spend a record $30 billion for the current quarter on AI expenses like data centers, more than the $24.23 billion analysts expected. Microsoft's rally was due to the strength of its latest earnings report for the quarter ending June 30, which the tech giant disclosed on Wednesday after the bell. In the report, Microsoft revealed quarterly revenue of $76.4 billion, up 18% from the same period last year, marking the company's fastest revenue growth in three years. Related: Microsoft's CEO Says the Company's Mass Layoffs, Despite Financial Success, Are 'Weighing Heavily on Me' in an Internal Memo Analysts were expecting $74.62 billion in Azure revenue, causing Microsoft's report to exceed expectations. The growth was largely driven by Microsoft's Azure cloud computing division, which provides computing power and storage for AI. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed Azure revenue for the first time in the report, noting that Azure "surpassed $75 billion in revenue, up 34%, driven by growth across all workloads." "Cloud and AI is the driving force of business transformation across every industry and sector," Nadella stated in the report.

Microsoft Reaches $4 Trillion Valuation After Solid Results

Microsoft hit $4 trillion (roughly Rs. 3,49,15,020 crore) in stock market value on Thursday, becoming the second publicly traded company after Nvidia to surpass that milestone following a blockbuster earnings report that showed its massive bets on AI are paying off. Strong results from Microsoft and Meta Platforms late on Thursday also fueled gains in Amazon and sent chipmaker Nvidia to a record high, with the four heavyweight AI players gaining over half a trillion dollars in market value. Wall Street's heavyweight players leading in AI - Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta Platforms - now account for a quarter of the S&P 500, according to LSEG data. Microsoft forecast a record $30 billion in capital spending for the first quarter of the current fiscal year to meet soaring AI demand. It reported booming sales in its Azure cloud computing business and said its Copilot AI tools had surpassed 100 million monthly active users. Microsoft's shares were last up 4.5 percent after climbing as much as 8 percent. "It is in the process of becoming more of a cloud infrastructure business and a leader in enterprise AI, doing so very profitably and cash generatively despite the heavy AI capital expenditures," said Gerrit Smit, lead portfolio manager, Stonehage Fleming Global Best Ideas Equity Fund. Meta Platforms also doubled down on its AI ambitions, forecasting quarterly revenue that blew past Wall Street estimates as artificial intelligence supercharged its core advertising business. Redmond, Washington-headquartered Microsoft first reached a $1 trillion stock market value in 2019. Its move to $3 trillion was more measured than Nvidia and Apple's, with AI-bellwether Nvidia tripling its value in just about a year and clinching the $4 trillion milestone on July 9. Apple was last valued at $3.12 trillion. Lately, breakthroughs in trade talks between the United States and its trading partners ahead of President Donald Trump's August 1 tariff deadline have buoyed stocks, propelling the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to record highs. Microsoft's multibillion-dollar bet on OpenAI is proving to be a game changer, powering its Office Suite and Azure offerings with cutting-edge AI and fueling the stock to more than double its value since ChatGPT's late-2022 debut. Its capital expenditure forecast, its largest ever for a single quarter, has put it on track to potentially outspend its rivals over the next year. Meta upped the lower end of its annual capital spending by $2 billion - just days after Alphabet made a similar move - signaling that Silicon Valley's race to dominate AI technology is accelerating. Cloud computing heavyweight Amazon.com rose 2 percent ahead of its quarterly report after the bell. AI chip supplier Nvidia climbed 0.8 percent, lifting its market capitalization to a record $4.4 trillion.

Microsoft set to hit $4 trillion market cap after earnings beat

Microsoft may soon achieve a market value of $4 trillion. This follows a strong earnings report that exceeded expectations. The company's stock price surged in response. Nvidia Corporation was the first to reach this milestone. Microsoft's cloud business, particularly Azure, is driving growth. Analysts are largely positive about Microsoft's future prospects. The company expects continued revenue growth. Microsoft Corp. is set to become the second company in the world to reach a $4 trillion market capitalization after reporting quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations, sending the stock soaring in extended trading Wednesday. Shares of the technology behemoth jumped as much as 9% to more than $560 in late New York trading, and if even a portion of the gain holds through Thursday's market open, Microsoft will reach a market value of $4 trillion. Nvidia Corp. became the first company to hit the milestone earlier this month. "Microsoft is getting the recognition that it deserves because it is the operating system for business. All of us run our businesses on Microsoft with Word, with Outlook, with Excel," said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners LLC. "This quarter's results point to an even better position for Microsoft because, like Nvidia, there appear to be no substitutes." The company's latest results confirmed that it's a leader in the artificial intelligence boom that's lifted megacap tech stocks, and the broader market, for the last few years. Microsoft reported better-than-expected growth in its cloud business, and its closely-watched Azure cloud-computing unit posted a 39% rise in sales, handily beating the 34% analysts expected. On a call with analysts, Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said Microsoft expects fiscal first quarter capital expenditures at more than $30 billion, and full year revenue growth in the double digits. In addition, Azure is expected to post a 37% growth rate in the first quarter, above forecasts. The stock is the second-best performer among the so-called Magnificent Seven mega tech stocks this year. Since its April 8 trough when President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff threats spurred a broader market selloff, the stock has surged nearly 45% to close just shy of a record high ahead of its Wednesday earnings report. This year has marked something of a rebound for Microsoft stock. It had lagged its peers in 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, the only Magnificent Seven stock in the red for that period, as investors grew concerned about its AI position and Azure growth. Wall Street is largely bullish on Microsoft shares, with 65 of the 72 analysts covering the company giving it a buy rating and one giving it a sell, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The average 12-month price target of $554 implies upside of about 8% from Wednesday's close.

Microsoft set to hit $4 trillion market cap after earnings beat - The Economic Times

Microsoft is set to become the world's second $4 trillion company after strong earnings pushed its shares up 9%. Azure cloud sales rose 39%, beating forecasts. The company expects more growth and higher spending ahead. Analysts remain bullish, highlighting Microsoft's strong role in the AI boom and business software.Microsoft is set to become the second company in the world to reach a $4 trillion market capitalization after reporting quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations, sending the stock soaring in extended trading Wednesday. Shares of the technology behemoth jumped as much as 9% to more than $560 in late New York trading, and if even a portion of the gain holds through Thursday's market open, Microsoft will reach a market value of $4 trillion. Nvidia became the first company to hit the milestone earlier this month. "Microsoft is getting the recognition that it deserves because it is the operating system for business. All of us run our businesses on Microsoft with Word, with Outlook, with Excel," said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners LLC. "This quarter's results point to an even better position for Microsoft because, like Nvidia, there appear to be no substitutes." The company's latest results confirmed that it's a leader in the artificial intelligence boom that's lifted megacap tech stocks, and the broader market, for the last few years. Microsoft reported better-than-expected growth in its cloud business, and its closely-watched Azure cloud-computing unit posted a 39% rise in sales, handily beating the 34% analysts expected. On a call with analysts, Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said Microsoft expects fiscal first quarter capital expenditures at more than $30 billion, and full year revenue growth in the double digits. In addition, Azure is expected to post a 37% growth rate in the first quarter, above forecasts. The stock is the second-best performer among the so-called Magnificent Seven mega tech stocks this year. Since its April 8 trough when President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff threats spurred a broader market selloff, the stock has surged nearly 45% to close just shy of a record high ahead of its Wednesday earnings report. This year has marked something of a rebound for Microsoft stock. It had lagged its peers in 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, the only Magnificent Seven stock in the red for that period, as investors grew concerned about its AI position and Azure growth. Wall Street is largely bullish on Microsoft shares, with 65 of the 72 analysts covering the company giving it a buy rating and one giving it a sell, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The average 12-month price target of $554 implies upside of about 8% from Wednesday's close.

Microsoft stocks on fire as tech giant eyes historic $4 trillion market cap. Where are Apple, Nvidia?

NVIDIA -- which became the first to breach the $4 trillion mark early July -- remains the AI hardware powerhouse, though Microsoft's platform dominance now challenges that lead. In a defining moment for the technology sector, Microsoft is crossing the $4 trillion market capitalization threshold for the first time, joining NVIDIA as one of only two publicly traded companies ever to reach this milestone. The surge came after trading hours on July 30, 2025, when Microsoft shares jumped by approximately 8-9 per cent, elevating its market value to around $4.1 trillion in extended trading. The rally followed the release of strong fiscal fourth-quarter results, with revenue climbing 18 per cent YoY to $76.4 billion, and net income surging 24 per cent to $27.2 billion -- driven by booming demand for AI-enabled cloud services. A key growth center: Azure and cloud computing. For the first time, Microsoft disclosed that annual Azure and cloud services revenues exceeded $75 billion, marking a 34 per cent increase year over year. Azure growth, reported at 34-39 per cent across sources, underscores Microsoft's position at the forefront of enterprise AI and infrastructure. CEO Satya Nadella attributed the company's latest performance to its leadership in AI and cloud innovation, with tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure AI services now reshaping how businesses operate. The company's ongoing investment strategy includes escalating its capital expenditures to $30 billion next quarter, and upwards of $120 billion annually, strengthening its AI infrastructure for long-term ambition. Microsoft's rise comes as Apple, once the most valuable public company, now trails at around $3.2 trillion, in part due to investor concerns over its slower pace in AI innovation. Meanwhile, NVIDIA -- which became the first to breach the $4 trillion mark early July -- remains the AI hardware powerhouse, though Microsoft's platform dominance now challenges that lead. As investors look ahead, analysts see Microsoft's AI-first strategy, built on Azure infrastructure and enterprise tools, as the fuel that could propel it toward a $5 trillion valuation in the coming 18 months, assuming AI spending and cloud penetration continue at pace. FAQs Q1. How are Microsoft stocks performing? A1. Microsoft shares jumped by approximately 8-9 per cent. Q2. Who is Microsoft CEO? A2. Microsoft CEO is Satya Nadella. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

Microsoft joins $4 trillion club

NEW YORK: Microsoft soared past $4 trillion in market valuation on Thursday, becoming the second publicly traded company after Nvidia to surpass the milestone following a blockbuster earnings report. The technology behemoth forecast a record $30 billion in capital spending for the first quarter of the current fiscal year to meet soaring AI demand and reported booming sales in its Azure cloud computing business on Wednesday. Shares of Microsoft were up 6.6% at $546.33 in morning trading. "It is in the process of becoming more of a cloud infrastructure business and a leader in enterprise AI, doing so very profitably and cash generatively despite the heavy AI capital expenditures," said Gerrit Smit, lead portfolio manager, Stonehage Fleming Global Best Ideas Equity Fund. Redmond, Washington-headquartered Microsoft first cracked the $1-trillion mark in April 2019. Its move to $3 trillion was more measured than technology giants Nvidia and Apple, with AI-bellwether Nvidia tripling its value in just about a year and clinching the $4-trillion milestone before any other company on July 9. Apple was last valued at $3.11 trillion.

Why Microsoft Stock Hit an All-Time High Today, Topping $4 Trillion for the First Time | The Motley Fool

Microsoft delighted investors with its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report. Shares of Microsoft (MSFT 4.70%) were moving higher today as the tech giant delivered a strong fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report across the board. The results were driven by growth in all three of its core business segments, and particular strength in its Azure cloud infrastructure segment, a sign that its artificial intelligence (AI) strategy is paying off. As of 9:49 a.m. ET, the stock was up 5.2%, topping $4 trillion in market cap for the first time. Overall revenue in the quarter was up 18% to $76.4 billion, which topped expectations at $73.8 billion. Growth was well balanced. Revenue from productivity and business process, which includes the Microsoft 365 Office suite, was up 16% to $33.1 billion. Intelligent cloud, which includes Azure, posted 26% revenue growth to $29.9 billion, and more personal computing, which includes Windows, rose 9% to $13.5 billion. In addition to strong growth in enterprise software and AI-focused products, Microsoft's consumer-focused franchises also did well with Xbox revenue up 13% and LinkedIn revenue up 9%. Search and news advertising revenue grew 20%, outperforming Google, though Microsoft's search business is much smaller. Microsoft's margins continued to scale up with operating income growing 23% to $34.3 billion, and earnings per share up 24% to $3.65, ahead of the consensus at $3.38. CEO Satya Nadella said, "Cloud and AI is the driving force of business transformation across every industry and sector. We're innovating across the tech stack to help customers adapt and grow in this new era, and this year, Azure surpassed $75 billion in revenue, up 34%, driven by growth across all workloads." Compared to its big tech peers, Microsoft benefits from having an unmatched level of diversification in its business, ranging from enterprise software to cloud infrastructure to Windows to consumer products, including devices and social media through LinkedIn. That's given Microsoft an edge in leveraging its investments in AI as it can deploy the technology across a broad range of products. The company says it expects revenue to grow double digits in fiscal 2026, and it sees strong growth continuing in its cloud business. Microsoft stock trades at a premium, but the recent results show why. The company remains in the driver's seat as the AI era advances and looks poised for further gains.

3 Reasons Why Microsoft Just Joined Nvidia in the $4 Trillion Club | The Motley Fool

On July 9, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) became the first company to reach $4 trillion in market cap. But Nvidia's stint as the lone company on the $4 trillion podium wouldn't last. A scorching rally, followed by blowout earnings report and guidance, springboarded Microsoft (MSFT 2.49%) above $4 trillion on July 31 -- making these two tech giants the undisputed heavyweight champs in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). As of market close on July 31, Microsoft was up 26.9% year to date compared to a 7.8% gain in the S&P 500. Microsoft had dropped out of the $4 trillion club by Monday morning, but I'm sure it will get back there. Here are three reasons Microsoft deserves to be in the $4 trillion club and why it could still be a growth stock worth buying now. Expectations were high for Microsoft's final quarter of fiscal 2025. Three months ago, the tech giant delivered fantastic results and updated its fiscal 2025 revenue guidance, calling for a 13.8% increase in full-year revenue. Not only did Microsoft surpass that target with 15% full-year revenue growth, but it also boosted margins and earnings. Microsoft finished the fiscal year with a 45.6% operating margin and a 36.1% profit margin -- meaning it is converting $0.36 of every dollar in revenue into net income. It's also worth mentioning that Microsoft hasn't been relying on acquisitions to fuel its higher numbers. Rather, it has been expanding its core business segments -- which tends to be a better path to earnings growth because it shows the underlying business is strong and doesn't need to pay for innovation by acquiring talent and ideas. Growing sales at 15% is impressive on its own for a company the size of Microsoft. But doing so while also expanding margins is a testament to Microsoft's Intelligent Cloud segment, where Microsoft is experiencing high-margin growth fueled by AI. Azure surpassed $75 billion in fiscal-year revenue as Microsoft continues building more data centers. On the earnings call on July 30, Microsoft said it continues to lead the AI infrastructure wave and now operates more data centers than any other cloud provider. Microsoft is building larger and more efficient data centers that can handle AI workloads. It is developing tools that are advancing its AI offerings, such as Microsoft Sovereign Cloud for public and private clouds and data and analytics platform Microsoft Fabric, and also pushing forward long-term bets on quantum computing. Outside cloud services, Microsoft Copilot continues to expand -- surpassing 100 million monthly active users. On the earnings call, Microsoft discussed how some companies initially tried out Copilot and have since expanded their orders to the enterprise level. The rapid adoption reflects the fact that Copilot is becoming an everyday tool for Microsoft 365 users. Microsoft is unique because it is developing entirely new tools for AI-specific workflows, but it is also upgrading legacy software, like Microsoft 365, to make it more powerful. Innovating while improving core aspects of the existing business has given Microsoft impressive results, and it's why the company is growing revenue and margins quickly despite tough comps. Microsoft's earnings growth hasn't come cheap. The company has been pouring resources into research and development, capital expenditures (capex), and operating expenses, and it has seen a surge in stock-based compensation. But Microsoft has been able to make these investments pay off. Too often, companies will enter a period of expansion, get greedy, and throw resources at ideas that end up being money pits. This position can amplify losses during a downturn. For example, Intel's (NASDAQ: INTC) vertical integration created a more capital-intensive business model. Failing to keep pace with competition that was adopting new semiconductor technology to pack more transistors onto smaller chips led to Intel's falling even further behind. Ramping up capex on its own isn't good enough. A company must invest in the right ideas and make those ideas benefit the underlying business over the long term, not just result in temporary earnings spikes. Microsoft is putting on a clinic in capital allocation without neglecting its financial health. For example, in fiscal 2025, Microsoft finished with $11.9 billion more in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet than at the end of fiscal 2024 -- and that's despite growing its expenses and dividend. However, free cash flow grew at 10% compared to 15% growth in operating cash flow as a result of higher capex. Microsoft is guiding for $30 billion in capex in its current quarter. For context, capex in its latest quarter was $24.2 billion. In sum, Microsoft has so far been able to convert record spending into record earnings, which is driving its record stock price. But the pace of its capex spending is entering uncharted waters, which will put more pressure on Microsoft to deliver results. Wall Street has been rewarding companies delivering AI-driven growth, and Microsoft has been at the forefront of that wave. Microsoft's blowout quarter and guidance suggest that it is pushing even harder on long-term investments -- but it can afford to do so, as evidenced by its rock-solid balance sheet. It continues to grow earnings faster than revenue, meaning that Microsoft isn't compromising efficiency in the pursuit of revenue growth. Microsoft has done a masterful job allocating capital. Until that changes, Microsoft will likely remain a Wall Street darling. But if it starts showing signs of failing to convert that spending into earnings, it wouldn't surprise me to see the stock sell off. All told, Microsoft is still worth buying and holding for investors who agree with its aggressive approach to AI and are willing to accept its higher valuation.

Microsoft Stock Soars on the Back of AI. Can the Momentum Continue or Is It Too Late to Buy the Stock? | The Motley Fool

After being the only "Magnificent Seven" stock to trail the performance of the S&P 500 last year, Microsoft (MSFT 2.18%) has come out swinging in 2025. The company closed out its fiscal year with another strong earnings report, helping lift its stock price. The stock is now up more than 25% on the year, as of this writing. Let's take a closer look at the tech giant's fiscal fourth quarter results and prospects to see if the stock's momentum can continue, or if it's time to take some profits. Microsoft's cloud computing unit, Azure, was in beast mode to close out its fiscal year, reporting a whopping 39% increase in revenue. It was the eighth straight quarter that Azure revenue has risen by 30% or more, and well above its forecast for 34% to 35% growth. The company credited the strong performance to accelerated growth in its core infrastructure business, primarily from its largest customers. Despite the huge growth, Microsoft said demand still remains above its current capacity and that it will be capacity-constrained through the first half of its fiscal year. It projected Azure revenue to grow by 37% in constant currencies in fiscal Q1. In addition to artificial intelligence (AI), the company also called out quantum computing as the next big potential accelerator for cloud computing growth. It is also deploying the world's first operational Level 2 Quantum computer in partnership with Atom Computing. Overall "intelligent cloud" revenue, which includes Azure, climbed 26% year over year to $29.9 billion. GitHub was another strong contributor to this segment, with GitHub Copilot users soaring 75% year over year to more than 20 million users. Other segments also showed strong growth. The productivity and business processes segment -- home to Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn -- saw revenue climb 16% year over year to $33.1 billion. Growth was solid across its four main solutions in the segment (in the table below), led by a 21% jump in Microsoft 365 Consumer product revenue, helped by an earlier price increase and 8% subscriber growth. Microsoft's family of Copilot apps surpassed 100 million monthly active users across both its commercial and consumer solutions. Dynamics products, which is part of the segment, increased revenue by 18%, driven by Dynamics 365 revenue growth of 23%. Data source: Microsoft press release. Revenue in its "more personal computing" segment -- home to Windows and Xbox -- rose 9% year over year at $13.5 billion. The search and news advertising business, which is also part of the segment, led the way with revenue climbing 21%. The company said the growth was driven by increases in both volume and revenue per search, as well as third-party partnerships. Windows OEM and device revenue, meanwhile, increased by 3%. Microsoft's total revenue jumped by 18% year over year to $76.4 billion, with earnings per share (EPS) climbing 24% to $3.65. The results easily topped analyst estimates calling for $73.8 billion in revenue and $3.37 in EPS, as compiled by LSEG. Looking ahead, the company guided for fiscal Q1 revenue of between $74.7 billion to $75.8 billion, which was above the $74.1 billion consensus. The company plans to spend $30 billion in capital expenditure (capex) in fiscal Q1 and said full-year capex would be greater than fiscal year 2025, although grow at a slower pace. It will also put more emphasis on shorter-lived assets, like graphics processing units (GPUs), which will translate more directly to revenue. While Microsoft has been seeing solid growth, it took it to another level in fiscal Q4. Nearly everything came together in the quarter, leading to one of the company's best quarterly reports in a long time. Azure is leading the way, and the opportunity in front of it remains huge. However, cloud computing wasn't Microsoft's only growth driver. Its AI-assistant copilots are seeing solid momentum, helping drive growth in other parts of its business. Looking at valuation, the stock now trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 35 times based on fiscal 2026 analyst estimates. While that isn't cheap, its PEG (price/earnings-to-growth) ratio of under 1.2 times is reasonable for a company seeing accelerating revenue growth that also owns a nice stake in OpenAI. Stocks with positive PEG ratios below 1 are generally viewed as undervalued, although growth stocks will often trade above this level. Overall, I think Microsoft remains a solid long-term holding, and the growth it has been putting up is exciting. However, I wouldn't necessarily chase the stock at its current valuation, and would prefer it on a pullback.

Microsoft Just Announced 1 Jaw-Dropping Figure You'll Have to See to Believe | The Motley Fool

After an impressive earnings report, Microsoft (MSFT 2.18%) became the world's second $4 trillion company. It did that after the stock jumped about 4% following earnings. The reason why Microsoft jumped is incredible and represents a significant shift in Microsoft's business. The metric that it revealed to investors on July 30 is nothing short of jaw-dropping, and it's one that investors need to see to believe. Microsoft is a tech conglomerate with an incredibly broad product lineup ranging from cloud solutions to software to hardware. Normally, one or even two business segments have rough quarters while cloud services push Microsoft's overall business higher; however, all three performed phenomenally in Microsoft's fiscal fourth quarter of 2025 (ending June 30). Over the past few years, the weakest division has been its More Personal Computing segment, which houses gaming devices (the Xbox) and other Microsoft-branded hardware. Revenue was up 9% year over year, which is a very strong result historically for this segment. Productivity and Business Processes houses the Microsoft products you're likely most familiar with, like Office and LinkedIn. This segment crushed it, with revenue rising 16% year over year. That's by far the best quarter this segment has produced during FY 2025, as Q3 revenue growth in this segment was 10%, Q2's was 14%, and Q1's was 12%. If Microsoft's more mature business units can deliver strong growth, it bodes well for the rest of the company, as cloud products once again led the way in Q4. We still haven't got to the most impressive part of Microsoft's business yet, the Intelligent Cloud division. This segment rose 21% year over year, which is in line with its performance in previous quarters. However, the star of the show is Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing service. Cloud computing is rising in popularity for a few reasons. First, for traditional business workloads like data processing or information storage, it offers a cost-effective solution. Rather than keep them on expensive company servers that require maintenance or can be expensive to scale up or down, more clients are choosing to offload this work onto the cloud, with Azure being one of the top options. It's also a smart choice for training and building AI models. Most companies don't need an AI supercomputer at all times. Furthermore, the cost of building one of these units makes it increasingly prohibitive. However, Azure offers high-powered computing necessary for training AI models on the cloud, and this has become an increasingly popular option among many AI start-ups. Azure's growth rate rapidly accelerated from previous quarters, which is a very bullish sign for Microsoft's business. Data source: Microsoft. Azure's jaw-dropping 39% year over year growth rate is much quicker than in previous quarters. This strength is expected to persist for some time, and Microsoft's CFO Amy Hood stated that "demand remains higher than supply." Microsoft Azure is a huge part of the company's investment thesis, and its continued success bodes well for investors. Although Microsoft's stock is expensive, it's still a top operator in the space and makes for a solid AI stock pick right now.

Microsoft poised for US$4 trillion valuation after solid results

Microsoft is set to soar past US$4 trillion in market valuation for the first time on Thursday, as a blockbuster earnings report helps the tech behemoth become the second company after Nvidia to surpass the milestone. The software company forecast a record $30 billion in capital spending for the current fiscal first quarter and reported booming sales in its Azure cloud computing business on Wednesday. Shares of Microsoft were up 8.5 per cent at $557.03 in early premarket trading, valuing it at $4.14 trillion. Redmond, Washington-headquartered Microsoft first cracked the $1 trillion mark in April 2019. Its move to $3 trillion was more measured than other tech giants, Nvidia and Apple, with AI bellwether Nvidia tripling its value in just about a year and clinching the $4 trillion milestone before any other company on July 9. Apple was last valued at $3.12 trillion. Lately, breakthroughs in trade talks between the U.S. and its trading partners ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's August 1 tariff deadline have buoyed stocks, propelling the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to record highs. Microsoft, the second largest U.S. company, has rebounded nearly 50 per cent from its April 2025 lows, when global markets were rattled by Trump's tariff offensive. Microsoft's multibillion-dollar bet on OpenAI is proving to be a game-changer, powering its Office Suite and Azure offerings with cutting-edge AI and fueling the stock to more than double its value since ChatGPT's late-2022 debut. Armed with exclusive access to OpenAI's models, Microsoft has raced to the front of the generative AI pack - supercharging its Azure cloud business, now the company's top revenue driver, and solidifying its dominance in the tech landscape, compared to Google's cloud and Amazon's web services. Wall Street's surging confidence in the company comes on the heels of back-to-back record revenues for the tech giant since September 2022. The stock's rally had also received an extra boost as the tech giant trimmed its workforce and doubled down on AI investments -- determined to cement its lead as businesses everywhere race to harness the technology. While sweeping U.S. tariffs had investors bracing for tighter business spending, Microsoft's strong earnings have shown that the company's books are yet to take a hit from the levies.

Microsoft Joins NVIDIA at $4 Trillion as AI Dominates Tech Growth

Microsoft's Latest AI Strategies and Strategic Partnerships with Open AI and xAI has Made it the Second Company to Enter $4 Trillion Club The $4 trillion club has another member officially. Microsoft has entered this elite club of $4 trillion market‑cap companies, following the entrance of NVIDIA earlier this month. For decades, Microsoft has been one of the most reliable tech giants, with steady and profitable growth. However, it never faced this boom before. According to the latest reports, shares of this tech giant have climbed approximately 8 to 9% following blockbuster fiscal Q4 earnings. The primary driving sources behind it are Azure, Copilot AI, and a record $30 billion capital expenditure plan for Artificial Intelligence infrastructure.

Microsoft joins $4T market-cap club after blowout earnings

Microsoft soared past $4 trillion in market valuation on Thursday, becoming the second publicly traded company after Nvidia to surpass the milestone following a blockbuster earnings report. The technology behemoth forecast a record $30 billion in capital spending for the first quarter of the current fiscal year to meet soaring AI demand and reported booming sales in its Azure cloud computing business on Wednesday. Shares of Microsoft were up 4.5% at $536.47. "It is in the process of becoming more of a cloud infrastructure business and a leader in enterprise AI, doing so very profitably and cash generatively despite the heavy AI capital expenditures," said Gerrit Smit, lead portfolio manager, Stonehage Fleming Global Best Ideas Equity Fund. Redmond, Wash.,-headquartered Microsoft first cracked the $1-trillion mark in April 2019. Its move to $3 trillion was more measured than technology giants Nvidia and Apple, with AI-bellwether Nvidia tripling its value in just about a year and clinching the $4-trillion milestone before any other company on July 9. Apple was last valued at $3.11 trillion. Lately, breakthroughs in trade talks between the United States and its trading partners ahead of President Trump's Friday tariff deadline have buoyed stocks, propelling the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to record highs. Microsoft's multibillion-dollar bet on OpenAI is proving to be a game changer, powering its Office Suite and Azure offerings with cutting-edge AI and fueling the stock to more than double its value since ChatGPT's late-2022 debut. Its capital expenditure forecast, its largest ever for a single quarter, has put it on track to potentially outspend its rivals over the next year. Meta Platforms also doubled down on its AI ambitions, forecasting third-quarter revenue that blew past Wall Street estimates as artificial intelligence supercharged its core advertising business. The social media giant upped the lower end of its annual capital spending by $2 billion -- just days after Alphabet made a similar move -- signaling that Silicon Valley's race to dominate the artificial-intelligence frontier is only accelerating. Wall Street's surging confidence in the company comes on the heels of back-to-back record revenues for the tech giant since September 2022. The stock's rally had also received an extra boost as the tech giant trimmed its workforce and doubled down on AI investments -- determined to cement its lead as businesses race to harness the technology. While sweeping US tariffs had investors bracing for tighter business spending, Microsoft's strong earnings have shown that the company's books are yet to take a hit from the levies.

Microsoft: market cap reaches $4 trillion after results

On Thursday, Microsoft became the second US company after Nvidia to exceed the symbolic $4 trillion mark in terms of market capitalization, following the publication of quarterly results that were applauded by the financial community. The world's leading software company's share price set a new record this morning, rising above $555.4, putting its market value at just over $4.02 trillion. The Redmond, Washington-based technology giant reported better-than-expected results for Q4 ended 30 June, thanks to the strength of its Azure cloud platform and its AI offerings. The group reported a 24% increase in net profit to $27.2bn, or $3.65 per share, compared with analysts' expectations of $3.35. Revenue rose 18% to $76.4bn, also exceeding the consensus of $73.7bn. Azure's growth accelerated to 39%, beating even the most optimistic analysts' forecasts of around 35%. However, Microsoft does not provide specific figures for its AI services, but analysts estimate that its Copilot tool was largely responsible for the 16% growth recorded by its Microsoft 365 office suite. This strong performance has led many brokers to raise their price targets, such as the BofA teams, which have raised theirs from $515 to $640 today. Jefferies has raised its target from $600 to $675, while Mizuho now says it is targeting $625, up from $540, as is Wedbush. Amongst tech heavyweights, Apple is closest to Microsoft with a market capitalization of just over $3.1 trillion, while Amazon remains "stuck" at around $2.4 trillion on the stockmarket ahead of the release of its quarterly results, due out this evening.

Microsoft races past $4 trillion valuation after solid results

(Reuters) -Microsoft soared past $4 trillion in market valuation on Thursday, becoming the second publicly traded company after Nvidia to surpass the milestone following a blockbuster earnings report. The technology behemoth forecast a record $30 billion in capital spending for the first quarter of the current fiscal year to meet soaring AI demand and reported booming sales in its Azure cloud computing business on Wednesday. Shares of Microsoft were up 6.6% at $546.33 in morning trading. "It is in the process of becoming more of a cloud infrastructure business and a leader in enterprise AI, doing so very profitably and cash generatively despite the heavy AI capital expenditures," said Gerrit Smit, lead portfolio manager, Stonehage Fleming Global Best Ideas Equity Fund. Redmond, Washington-headquartered Microsoft first cracked the $1-trillion mark in April 2019. Its move to $3 trillion was more measured than technology giants Nvidia and Apple, with AI-bellwether Nvidia tripling its value in just about a year and clinching the $4-trillion milestone before any other company on July 9. Apple was last valued at $3.11 trillion. Lately, breakthroughs in trade talks between the United States and its trading partners ahead of President Donald Trump's August 1 tariff deadline have buoyed stocks, propelling the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to record highs. Microsoft's multibillion-dollar bet on OpenAI is proving to be a game changer, powering its Office Suite and Azure offerings with cutting-edge AI and fueling the stock to more than double its value since ChatGPT's late-2022 debut. Its capital expenditure forecast, its largest ever for a single quarter, has put it on track to potentially outspend its rivals over the next year. Meta Platforms also doubled down on its AI ambitions, forecasting third-quarter revenue that blew past Wall Street estimates as artificial intelligence supercharged its core advertising business. The social media giant upped the lower end of its annual capital spending by $2 billion - just days after Alphabet made a similar move - signaling that Silicon Valley's race to dominate the artificial-intelligence frontier is only accelerating. Amazon.com - the largest U.S. cloud provider - which will report earnings on Thursday after markets close, rose 1.7%. Wall Street's surging confidence in the company comes on the heels of back-to-back record revenues for the tech giant since September 2022. The stock's rally had also received an extra boost as the tech giant trimmed its workforce and doubled down on AI investments -- determined to cement its lead as businesses race to harness the technology. While sweeping U.S. tariffs had investors bracing for tighter business spending, Microsoft's strong earnings have shown that the company's books are yet to take a hit from the levies. (Reporting by Medha Singh and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Mrigank Dhaniwala)

Microsoft joins NVIDIA with $4 trillion market cap: Thanks to Copilot AI and more

Microsoft joins Nvidia as only two $4 trillion companies in history For decades Microsoft has been the dependable tech giant, steady, massive, profitable, but never quite explosive. That label belonged to Silicon Valley's more mercurial players. Until now. In a stunning financial feat, Microsoft has crossed the $4 trillion market capitalization mark, joining NVIDIA in an elite club that, until just weeks ago, didn't even exist. This historic leap isn't just a triumph of scale, it's a testament to how Microsoft has successfully repositioned itself as an AI-first, cloud-anchored juggernaut, riding the same wave that pushed NVIDIA into the financial stratosphere. Also read: Microsoft's Copilot AI can now see your entire desktop screen and here's why you should be worried The catalyst? Artificial intelligence and more specifically, Copilot. Microsoft's push to embed AI across its product ecosystem has redefined what cloud services and productivity tools look like. From Microsoft 365 Copilot, which infuses AI into Office apps, to GitHub Copilot, which is transforming software development, the company has turned AI from a buzzword into a user-facing reality. With each passing quarter, enterprises are deepening their spend on AI tools and most roads lead back to Azure, Microsoft's cloud platform, where these services are hosted. The company reported a 34-39% year-over-year surge in Azure revenues, driven largely by demand for AI infrastructure and services. It's not just businesses - governments, research institutions, and developers across the globe are tapping into Microsoft's AI muscle. Microsoft's fiscal Q4 2025 earnings gave investors plenty to celebrate. Revenue reached $76.4 billion, up 18% year-over-year. Profits? A staggering $27.2 billion, a 24% jump. These numbers reflect growth and signal dominance. Wall Street responded instantly. Microsoft shares surged nearly 9% in after-hours trading on July 30, adding hundreds of billions to its valuation in a matter of hours and pushing it just above the $4.1 trillion mark. At one point during the day, Microsoft even edged out NVIDIA, if only briefly, to become the world's most valuable company. Also read: Donald Trump doesn't want Microsoft and other tech companies to hire Indians: Here's why This milestone feels especially significant when you trace the arc of Microsoft's journey. It went from being the "Office company" to becoming an AI cloud empire. Its massive capital investments amounting over $100 billion planned for expanding data centers and AI infrastructure, show a long-term bet on a world where generative AI underpins everything from search to software engineering. Unlike NVIDIA, which dominates the AI hardware market with its GPUs, Microsoft is claiming the platform layer of the AI revolution. Its investments in OpenAI, partnerships with companies like Meta and xAI, and its seamless integration of AI into everyday tools position it as the gateway through which many users will experience artificial intelligence. It's worth noting that NVIDIA, the first to cross the $4 trillion line earlier this month, remains the darling of the AI hardware world. But Microsoft's entry into this rarefied territory makes one thing clear: AI's true value is not just in chips, but in what those chips power. Microsoft's ascent is a signal that we're now entering a phase where AI utility, more so than AI capability, defines market value. And in this regard, Microsoft is unmatched. Where NVIDIA sells the shovels, Microsoft sells the land and charges rent on every gold nugget found. With this milestone, Microsoft has effectively redrawn the map of tech power. Apple, once the crown jewel of the market, now sits at a relatively modest $3.2 trillion valuation, trailing both Microsoft and NVIDIA. The next question is no longer who will hit $4 trillion, that question is answered. Now, it's who can hold it and grow beyond it. Microsoft, with its hybrid of software legacy, cloud infrastructure, and AI strategy, is uniquely positioned to do both. In the end, Microsoft's $4 trillion moment isn't just about valuation. It's about validation in the age of artificial intelligence, the companies that build usable, trusted, and ubiquitous AI will be the ones that shape the future.