Microsoft Corp. S.
data-center construction. The rally extended to Big Tech peers including Apple Inc.
com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet Inc.
(NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL). 3%.
• Microsoft stock is at critical resistance. What’s driving MSFT to record levels?
S. data center development over the next several years.
Still, Ives said his preferred technology names remain unchanged and continued to identify Microsoft as his top hyperscaler AI pick heading into 2027. Earlier, Ives had called the recent technology sell-off a "gut check" and urged investors not to "panic," while warning that AI companies have "like a six-month window" to demonstrate stronger monetization from their infrastructure spending.
Slowinski Sees More Azure Acceleration BNP Paribas analyst Stefan Slowinski maintained an Outperform rating and raised his price target to $632 from $604 following Microsoft’s latest results. Slowinski highlighted 48% constant-currency Azure growth in the fiscal first quarter, above management’s 44%-45% guidance, while Microsoft 365 Commercial Cloud grew 18%.
He expects Azure growth to accelerate further to 49%-50% in the fiscal second quarter and Microsoft 365 Commercial Cloud growth to reach 19%. 5%, but also lifted his fiscal 2028 and 2029 cash-capex forecasts by 9% and 16%, respectively.
He cautioned that continued infrastructure spending could push free cash flow negative in the second half of fiscal 2027. A.
Davidson Managing Director Gil Luria slightly favored Microsoft over Alphabet and Amazon. Luria expected Azure to accelerate and viewed Microsoft’s ability to generate free cash flow as an advantage in funding AI infrastructure without necessarily relying on additional debt or equity.
He also saw enterprise demand, Azure’s AI compute exposure and higher software subscriptions as important growth drivers. Thill Points to Cloud and Software Strength Following the results, Jefferies analyst Brent Thill highlighted accelerating Azure and Microsoft 365 growth, strong remaining performance obligations and lower-than-expected capital spending.
Thill also pointed to Microsoft’s resilient operating margins despite heavy AI investment. He said the key issue from here is whether Microsoft can sustain infrastructure spending while preserving profitability, with enterprise AI adoption still at an early stage.
Munster Questions How Long Software Acceleration Can Last Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster noted Microsoft’s software growth accelerated to 17% in September from 14% in June. He nevertheless questioned whether that pace is sustainable as AI changes demand for knowledge-worker software.
Munster also said capacity constraints prevented Azure from growing even faster, reinforcing Microsoft’s need for additional infrastructure investment. 13.
Recent actions include Bernstein maintaining Outperform and raising its forecast to $722, RBC Capital maintaining Outperform with a $640 forecast, and Citigroup maintaining Buy while increasing its forecast to $680. 80% Weight Significance: Because Microsoft carries such a heavy weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely trigger automatic buying or selling of the stock.
56 at the time of publication on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Image via Shutterstock Read Also: What Is Going On With Nvidia Stock on Wednesday?
