Microsoft posted fourth-quarter fiscal results that exceeded analyst expectations, driving a significant rally in its stock price on Thursday. The company reported revenue that beat forecasts and achieved 43% growth in its Azure cloud division, which also outperformed market projections. The software giant noted that its Microsoft 365 Copilot AI assistant had accumulated over 30 million paid seats, representing an increase from more than 20 million in April. Industry analysts highlighted that Microsoft’s strong financial performance and accelerating Copilot adoption suggested its substantial data-center investments were beginning to generate returns.
Despite signaling potential spending expansion in its 2027 fiscal year and maintaining its 2026 capital expenditure forecast, Microsoft’s stock experienced its best trading day since 2008 and added nearly $450 billion to its market capitalization.
Meta, by contrast, faced investor disappointment following its earnings announcement. The company missed earnings expectations and provided lower-than-expected revenue guidance for the current quarter, projecting between $61 billion and $64 billion compared with analyst expectations of $63.15 billion at the midpoint. Additionally, Meta’s free cash flow plunged 91% on a year-over-year basis to $784 million, driven by continued heavy spending on artificial intelligence initiatives.
The social media platform’s stock extended its decline to an 11th consecutive day, marking a record losing streak, with cumulative losses exceeding 20% over that period. CEO Mark Zuckerberg indicated the company has received offers to lease excess computing capacity at premium rates, suggesting a potential new revenue avenue, though limited details were provided regarding the scope and structure of such an arrangement. Zuckerberg also acknowledged Meta must retain sufficient computational resources for its own product development efforts. Market observers noted that management’s forward-looking statements lacked sufficient specificity, and that Meta continues to navigate uncertainty regarding the balance between computing costs and revenue generation.
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