Microsoft Surges 9% as Azure Tops $100B and Q4 Beat Lifts Most Price Targets

Shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) are up 9% successful aboriginal Thursday trading, changing hands astatine $427 aft the bundle elephantine delivered a fiscal fourth-quarter blowout and crossed a symbolic Azure milestone. The popular lifts the banal disconnected Wednesday's $390.54 adjacent and pushes it backmost toward levels past seen successful the spring.

As of yesterday's close, Microsoft banal was down 19% twelvemonth to day (YTD), truthful this reads much similar a alleviation rally successful a beaten-down mega-cap than a caller breakout. The determination follows Wednesday afternoon's net release, and it's driving spot crossed AI-linked names.

Investors are digesting what the net study says astir unreality capex, Copilot monetization, and the broader mega-cap net setup heading into Amazon's report. That framing sets up the remainder of the absorption crossed the AI complex.

Azure Tops $100B and Q4 Blows Past Estimates

Microsoft posted fiscal Q4 2026 gross of $90 billion, up 18%, up of the $87.62 cardinal consensus. Microsoft's diluted net per stock landed astatine $4.81, up 32%, oregon $4.74 excluding a summation tied to the OpenAI investment.

The centerpiece was Azure. Growth accelerated to 43% from 40% the anterior quarter, and Azure crossed $100 cardinal successful gross for the afloat fiscal twelvemonth for the archetypal time. Microsoft Cloud gross reached $59.3 billion, up 27%, and commercialized remaining show obligations jumped 84% to $678 billion. Management besides disclosed much than 30 cardinal paid Copilot seats.

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The bigger alleviation was connected spending. Microsoft's superior expenditures including leases came successful astatine $41 billion, beneath the $42 cardinal feared. CFO Amy Hood stated that capex volition turn further successful fiscal 2027 portion the institution stays free-cash-flow positive, and Microsoft is extending the utile beingness of bureau and information halfway buildings to 25 years from 15. Microsoft's fiscal Q1 2027 gross guidance of $89.85 cardinal to $90.95 cardinal besides topped Street models.