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Microsoft shares surged 15.5% following a record-breaking market-value increase and strong fourth-quarter earnings

Microsoft shares experienced a historic 15.5% single-day jump, adding approximately $450 billion in market value to reach a market capitalization of $3.4 trillion. This surge followed a fiscal fourth-quarter report in which the company posted $90 billion in revenue, an 18% increase year-over-year, and a 31% rise in net income. Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, highlighted the success of the company's artificial intelligence strategy, noting that Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time. The company also reported over 30 million paid seats for its Microsoft 365 Copilot AI product. While the company is spending heavily on data centers, it managed to keep capital expenditures at $41 billion, slightly below the $42 billion expected by analysts. Despite the strong earnings, Microsoft announced a plan to lay off 4,800 employees, representing 2.1% of its global workforce. Amy Coleman, the executive vice president and chief people officer, noted that these cuts are partly due to a shakeup in the tech sector caused by AI, though none of the roles will be replaced by AI.

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