Reuters reported Thursday that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) has closed at least 15 branch offices and joint ventures in China over the past five years, a deliberate downsizing that accelerated in 2026.
Cloud computing refers to the on-demand seamless access of computing resources such as servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence over the Internet (the cloud) on a pay-per-use pricing model.
Shares of Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) were last seen up 0.4% at $494.34, with the Big Tech behemoth now sporting a 32% gain for the current quarter.
Two years ago, Microsoft described AI as a “generational shift” in technology that it wanted to lead. Today, the company is merging its Copilot-branded consumer and business apps, and ditching a number of unsuccessful AI features.
SpaceX spent nearly $16 billion on AI infrastructure during the second quarter. While AI capex remains hefty, SpaceX has already signed Anthropic and Google Cloud to deals worth more than $70 billion.
As Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) stock rallied more than 27% since reporting a strong fourth quarter of its 2026 fiscal year, Samik Chatterjee, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), expects this company's share price to hit a new all-time high (ATH) over the next 12 months.
Steve Ballmer's entire fortune, built over four-plus decades as Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction)'s second employee, its CEO from 2000 to 2014, and now its largest individual shareholder, sits at $172 billion.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) trades at $492.43 while the consensus Wall Street price target sits at $567.20, an implied upside of roughly 15%.
Microsoft delivered robust Q4 results, with 18% YoY revenue growth and a strong performance from Intelligent Cloud and Productivity & Business Processes. Intelligent Cloud segment accelerated to 31% constant currency growth, with Azure up 43%, justifying elevated CapEx. Guidance for Q1 implies continued strength, with revenue growth expected to be at 33% for Intelligent Cloud, reinforcing the bullish outlook.
Several members of the group, including Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL), posted solid results overall, though the post-earnings reaction was much stronger for MSFT.
Microsoft Corp. shares MSFT fell 2% in Wednesday morning trading as investors weighed fresh speculation about the company's in-house Maia AI chips against its rapidly rising infrastructure spending. While the software giant has not confirmed reports that another Maia processor could launch as early as September, analysts increasingly view Microsoft's custom silicon strategy as a key component of its long-term artificial intelligence ambitions.
The AI leadership race got a fresh jolt today. SpaceX unveiled Grok 4.6, and Elon Musk claimed on X that “Grok 4.6 is objectively #1 when considering intelligence, speed & cost.