Zhi Tong Cai Jing·2026-01-29 00:27Core Viewpoint - Microsoft reported strong financial results for Q2 of FY2026, with revenue and profit exceeding Wall Street expectations. However, concerns over slowing growth in Azure cloud services and significant capital expenditures related to AI investments led to a sharp decline in its stock price post-announcement [1]. Financial Performance - For the second quarter ending December 31, Microsoft achieved revenue of $81.27 billion, a year-over-year increase of approximately 17%, surpassing the market expectation of $80.3 billion. Net profit reached $38.46 billion, translating to earnings per share of $5.16, significantly exceeding the expected $3.92. Adjusted earnings per share were $4.14, also above forecasts. Notably, the surge in net profit was partly due to changes in accounting treatment for investments in OpenAI, contributing an additional $1.02 to earnings per share [2]. Cloud Business Performance - Microsoft's "Intelligent Cloud" segment, including Azure, generated revenue of $32.91 billion, a nearly 29% year-over-year increase, slightly above expectations. However, the growth rate of Azure and other cloud services, which increased by 38% year-over-year at constant currency, showed a deceleration of one percentage point compared to the previous quarter. This slowdown raised concerns among investors betting on stronger cloud performance [3]. Capital Expenditures and AI Investment Concerns - Capital expenditures surged to $37.5 billion, a 66% year-over-year increase, exceeding analyst expectations of $36.2 billion. Approximately two-thirds of this expenditure was allocated to computing chips for data centers to meet AI demands. CEO Satya Nadella noted an increase of nearly 1 gigawatt in computing capacity during the quarter. Despite significant investments, the company faces challenges in rapidly expanding sufficient computing capacity to meet demand [4]. Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO) - The remaining performance obligations (RPO), representing future revenue under contract but not yet recognized, reached a record $625 billion, more than doubling year-over-year. This figure surpassed Oracle's reported $523 billion. However, 45% of Microsoft's RPO is tied to agreements with OpenAI, highlighting the company's deep reliance on this AI startup [4][5]. Other Business Segments - The Productivity and Business Processes segment, which includes Office, Dynamics, and LinkedIn, generated revenue of $34.12 billion, a 16% year-over-year increase, exceeding expectations. Microsoft also reported that its AI assistant, Microsoft 365 Copilot, has gained 15 million commercial user seats, indicating initial adoption momentum. Conversely, the More Personal Computing segment, which includes Windows, Xbox, Surface, and Bing, saw revenue decline by approximately 3% year-over-year to $14.25 billion, slightly below expectations, with gaming revenue down 9.5% [6]. Industry Competition and Stock Pressure - Microsoft is the first of the three major cloud service companies to report quarterly financial results, serving as a key indicator of the efficiency of AI investments among tech giants. Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta are expected to collectively spend over $500 billion on AI this year. In contrast to Microsoft's post-earnings stock decline, Meta's stock surged following its announcement of increased AI spending, reflecting differing market expectations regarding AI strategies. Analysts noted that Microsoft's stock performance is closely tied to OpenAI's outcomes, particularly amid competition from Google's Gemini model and other emerging competitors [7].