Microsoft Shares Drop After Reportedly Lowering Expectations For AI Product Demand

Core Viewpoint - Microsoft shares experienced a decline of over 1.7% following a report suggesting the company had lowered growth targets for AI product sales, which Microsoft has denied, stating the report reflects a misunderstanding of their sales organization [1][2]. Group 1: Stock Performance - Microsoft shares fell by more than 1.7% to approximately $481.64, recovering from earlier losses of up to 3% before the company's denial of the report [1]. - The company's market capitalization stands at $3.5 trillion, ranking behind Alphabet, Apple, and Nvidia, with a year-to-date increase of 15% [3]. Group 2: Sales Targets and Reports - Less than 20% of salespeople in a U.S.-based Azure unit met a sales growth target of 50% for an AI application tool, leading to a reported reduction of the target to 25% growth for the current fiscal year [2]. - Microsoft refuted the report, asserting that aggregate sales quotas for AI products have not been lowered and criticized the report for inaccurately merging growth and sales quotas [2].