Microsoft (MSFT) Announces $23 Billion Investment Plan, Morgan Stanley Reiterates “Buy” Rating

Core Insights - Microsoft Corporation announced a $23 billion investment plan to accelerate its global AI initiatives, with a significant focus on India, where $17.5 billion will be invested to establish the largest cloud computing presence in the country [1][2] - Morgan Stanley reiterated a "Buy" rating for Microsoft with a price target of $650, driven by price increases for Microsoft 365, AI-driven upgrades, and Copilot adoption, projecting an incremental revenue of $2-$6 billion from FY27-FY29 [3] - Microsoft declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, reflecting its commitment to shareholder returns while pursuing aggressive AI investments [4] Investment Focus - The investment plan includes the construction of a new hyperscale data center in Hyderabad and expansions in Chennai and Pune, aiming to support India's "AI-First future" by training 20 million Indians in AI skills by 2030 [1] - In Canada, Microsoft plans to invest over $5.42 billion in new cloud capacity over the next two years, with deployments expected in the second half of 2026, alongside a partnership with Canadian AI startup Cohere to enhance AI model delivery on Azure [2] Financial Performance - The company's aggressive investment strategy is complemented by its ongoing revenue growth from cloud, AI, software, and computing solutions globally, as indicated by the bullish outlook from analysts [3][4]