Updated
Updated · Yahoo Finance · Jul 30
Microsoft Surges 15% After Azure Tops $100 Billion as Meta Drops 9% on Cash Flow Miss
Updated
Updated · Yahoo Finance · Jul 30

Microsoft Surges 15% After Azure Tops $100 Billion as Meta Drops 9% on Cash Flow Miss

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Finance · Jul 30

Summary

  • Microsoft shares climbed more than 15% after Q4 beat forecasts, with Azure growth accelerating to 43%, Azure revenue topping $100 billion for the first time, and Q1 sales projected to rise 45%.
  • 30 million-plus Microsoft 365 Copilot seats and CFO Amy Hood’s forecast for faster growth in early fiscal 2027 helped answer investor doubts about when the company’s heavy AI spending would pay off.
  • Meta fell more than 9% after earnings per share missed expectations and free cash flow plunged to $784 million from $8.5 billion a year earlier as its AI build-out continued.
  • 2027 capex guidance was absent, and Mark Zuckerberg again offered no concrete timeline for renting out AI compute capacity, leaving investors with fewer signs of near-term returns.

Insights

Could Meta's secret offers to lease premium computing power eventually outshine Microsoft's booming enterprise AI profits?
Why is Wall Street rewarding Microsoft's AI spending while ruthlessly punishing Meta for making similar infrastructure bets?