Core Viewpoint - Microsoft Corp. experienced a significant drop in share prices, attributed to profit-taking and concerns over heavy spending and exposure to OpenAI [1] Financial Performance - In the second quarter ending December 31, 2025, Microsoft reported a net income increase of 59.5% to $38.46 billion from $24.1 billion year-on-year [2] - Revenues grew by 17% to $81.3 billion from $69.6 billion in the same period last year [2] - Cloud revenues surged by 26% to $51.5 billion [2] Capital Expenditures and Backlog - Capital expenditures rose significantly by 66% to $37.5 billion, raising concerns among analysts [3] - OpenAI constitutes 45% of Microsoft's backlog, leading to questions about the financial viability of achieving projected goals [4] Analyst Concerns - Jefferies analyst Brent Thill expressed concerns regarding Microsoft's exposure to OpenAI and the implications of its backlog on financial performance [4]

Core Viewpoint - Microsoft Corp. experienced a significant selloff, resulting in a loss of $357 billion in market value, marking the second-largest single-day valuation drop in stock market history [1][2]. Group 1: Market Impact - The stock closed down 10%, the largest decline since March 2020, following disappointing earnings that highlighted record spending on artificial intelligence while growth in its cloud unit slowed [1][4]. - This selloff is notable as it surpassed the market capitalizations of over 90% of S&P 500 Index members, indicating a substantial impact on the market [2]. Group 2: Industry Reaction - Other tech giants, including Alphabet Inc. and Nvidia, also faced significant losses, with each shedding more than $100 billion at one point during the selloff [3]. - Alphabet shares managed to recover slightly, closing up 0.7%, while Amazon's shares settled down 0.5% [3]. Group 3: Financial Performance - Microsoft reported a 66% increase in capital expenditures in the most recent quarter, reaching a record $37.5 billion, but the growth of its Azure cloud-computing unit showed signs of slowing [4]. - Analysts express skepticism regarding the return on investment from Microsoft's substantial AI spending, suggesting a need for reevaluation of the company's stock price to align with its historical fair value [5]. Group 4: Historical Context - The recent selloff is among the worst in Microsoft's history, comparable to significant market declines during events such as Black Monday in 1987 and the dot-com bubble [6].

Group 1 - The core point of the article is that Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon are negotiating to invest up to $60 billion in OpenAI, which would be the largest single funding round in the AI sector to date [1][4] Group 2 - Nvidia plans to lead the investment with $30 billion, as it is a key chip supplier for OpenAI, providing GPUs for training models like ChatGPT [4] - Microsoft, as OpenAI's largest strategic partner and cloud service provider, intends to invest less than $10 billion, continuing its support since 2019 while avoiding excessive dilution of its equity [4] - Amazon is looking to invest over $10 billion, potentially exceeding $20 billion, marking its first direct investment in OpenAI, which is seen as a strategic move to strengthen its AI ecosystem against Microsoft Azure [4] Group 3 - The funding round is perceived as a response to competitive pressures, especially after Anthropic raised $7.3 billion and other tech giants like Google and Meta accelerated their AI investments [4] - OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman has indicated that future funding needs could reach trillions of dollars to achieve the goal of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), making this financing round just the first step in a long-term plan [4]

Core Viewpoint - Microsoft recently faced significant backlash due to a cumulative update (KB5074109) for Windows 11 that introduced multiple severe bugs, affecting user experience and system functionality [1][2][3]. Group 1: Bugs and Issues - Users reported being unable to boot their systems, experiencing a "black screen" issue that prevents access to the operating system, with some encountering the error code "UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME" [3][5]. - Another critical issue is the inability to shut down systems, as the update interferes with the virtualization context cleanup process, causing systems to revert to a startup state instead of shutting down [6]. - The update also led to performance issues with applications like Outlook, where users experienced freezing and significant drops in performance due to conflicts between the new patch and graphics drivers [9][10]. Group 2: User Reactions and Alternatives - Many users expressed frustration over the repeated occurrence of such issues with Windows updates, leading to calls for a transition to Linux as a more stable alternative [12][15]. - Linux has seen improvements in gaming compatibility and can meet the needs of most office users, although it still lacks support for certain professional software like Adobe products [14][15]. - The ongoing issues with Windows updates have raised concerns about Microsoft's ability to maintain system stability, prompting users to consider dual-booting with Linux as a viable option [15].

28 January 2026 | 11:02PM EST Equity Research Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Trading off short-term Azure growth ultimately drives more strategic AI positioning long term MSFT 12m Price Target: $600.00 Price: $481.63 Upside: 24.6% Selina Zhang +1(212)357-9979 | selina.zhang@gs.com Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Key Data _____________________________________ Market cap: $3.6tr Enterprise value: $3.5tr 3m ADTV: $12.3bn United States Americas Software M&A Rank: 3 | GS Forecast __________________________________ | | | | | | - ...

Core Insights - Microsoft's commercial remaining performance obligations (RPOs) surged to $625 billion, reflecting a 110% year-over-year increase, indicating strong demand for AI-driven cloud computing services [4][6] - The significant growth in RPOs is a positive signal for investors, as it suggests a robust pipeline of contracted demand, although it does not guarantee immediate revenue recognition [2][10] Group 1: Commercial RPOs Growth - The commercial RPOs represent the dollar value of contracted work not yet recognized as revenue, serving as a key indicator of demand for Microsoft's services [3] - The year-over-year increase in RPOs is more than double the previous quarter's growth rate of 51%, highlighting an acceleration in backlog growth [4] - The portion of RPOs expected to be recognized in the next 12 months grew only 39% year over year, with only 25% of total RPOs anticipated to be recognized in that timeframe [6] Group 2: Customer Concentration and Risks - A significant 45% of Microsoft's commercial backlog is attributed to a single customer, OpenAI, which introduces customer concentration risk [7] - Excluding OpenAI, the growth rate of commercial RPOs is much slower at 28% year over year, indicating potential vulnerabilities in the backlog [7] Group 3: Revenue Growth and Capital Expenditures - Despite the increase in RPOs, Microsoft's Azure and other cloud services revenue growth decelerated to 38% year over year in fiscal Q2, down from 39% in the previous quarter [8] - The company reported capital expenditures of $37.5 billion in fiscal Q2, a 66% increase year over year, raising concerns about the sustainability of its growth strategy [9] Group 4: Financial Performance - Microsoft achieved a revenue growth of 17% year over year in fiscal Q2, with non-GAAP earnings per share rising 24% year over year, showcasing strong financial performance [12] - The current price-to-earnings ratio of approximately 27 suggests that Microsoft stock remains attractive based on recent results and reasonable valuation [13]

OpenAI’s largest suppliers may soon become its biggest backers. Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia are in talks to invest in the ChatGPT developer as it prepares for a potential fourth-quarter IPO, according to reports. Earlier reports said Amazon was in talks to invest up to $50 billion in OpenAI, according to the Wall Street Journal. The move would make Amazon one of OpenAI’s largest backers. Additional reporting by The Information said the fundraising effort could expand to include Microsoft and Nvidia, w ...

图片来源： Unsplash OpenAI 正在寻求筹集高达 1000 亿美元的资金，以满足其 AI 日益增长的需求，并已从一些最大的科技合作伙伴处获得巨额支票。 据知情人士透露，现有 投资者英伟达正在谈判投资高达 300 亿美元，该公司的芯片为 OpenAI 的 AI 模型提供算力支持。 长期支持者微软正在谈判投资不到 100 亿美元，该公司拥有将 OpenAI 模型销售给其云客户的独家权利。 而潜在新投资者亚马逊也在谈判投资显著超过 100 亿美元的资金，甚至可能超过 200 亿美元。 两位知情人士透露，这些投资将不包含现有投资者软银的注资，后者目前也正就高达 300 亿美元的投资进行谈判。若本轮巨额融资能够顺利落地，将缓解 投资者对公司资金消耗的担忧。近期公开市场投资者对 OpenAI 履行其向甲骨文和微软支出承诺的能力日益存疑。 这轮融资前，公司估值或达 7300 亿美元。 科技巨头的参与将为 OpenAI 提供远超以往的可用资源，用以支付 AI 模型的训练和运行成本以及其他计算费用——该公司去年夏季预估 2026 至 2030 年间 相关开支将超过 4300 亿美元，期间还将消耗近 700 亿美元资 ...

Group 1: Precious Metals - Gold and silver experienced significant declines, with silver dropping by 8% and gold falling below $5,200 per ounce [1] Group 2: Technology Stocks - Major technology stocks saw a collective drop, with Microsoft down 11.73%, Salesforce down 8.33%, and Oracle down 5.73% [4] - The decline in tech stocks is attributed to market skepticism regarding AI spending and concerns about whether demand can support substantial capital expenditures [4] - Over the past three years, the "Big Seven" tech stocks have been the main drivers of market growth, but by the end of 2025, Wall Street began questioning the return on the billions invested in AI by these companies [5] Group 3: Market Trends - Microsoft reported a slowdown in cloud business growth for Q2 of fiscal year 2026 and provided a weak guidance for operating margins in Q3 [5] - Bitcoin fell below $86,000 amid a pullback in risk assets, marking its lowest point in about six weeks [5]

Core Viewpoint - The Schall Law Firm is investigating Microsoft Corporation for potential violations of securities laws related to misleading statements and undisclosed information affecting investors [1][2]. Group 1: Investigation Details - The investigation centers on whether Microsoft issued false or misleading statements or failed to disclose critical information to investors [2]. - Following the Q2 2026 financial results announcement on January 28, 2026, Microsoft shares fell nearly 10% due to capacity constraints associated with AI [2]. - Microsoft CFO Amy Hood indicated that approximately 45% of the commercial RPO balance is from OpenAI, with the remaining balance growing by 28%, reflecting strong customer demand [2].