Microsoft Breaks $4 Trillion Mark, Surges on AI and Cloud Growth
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has surpassed a $4 trillion market valuation, becoming the second public company after Nvidia to cross that milestone, driven by a stellar earnings report and booming AI demand.
The tech giant announced a record $30 billion in capital spending for Q1 of its current fiscal year, primarily to support growing demand for artificial intelligence. On Wednesday, it also reported soaring sales in its Azure cloud services division. By Thursday morning, Microsoft shares had jumped 6.6% to $546.33.
“Microsoft is evolving into a dominant cloud infrastructure and enterprise AI company—doing it profitably despite its aggressive AI investments,” noted Gerrit Smit, lead portfolio manager at Stonehage Fleming.
The company first hit $1 trillion in April 2019 and steadily climbed to $3 trillion, a slower pace compared to Nvidia and Apple. Nvidia hit $4 trillion earlier this month after tripling its value in a year, while Apple currently sits at $3.11 trillion.
The broader market has also benefited from optimism around U.S. trade negotiations ahead of President Donald Trump’s August 1 tariff deadline, pushing indexes like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to new highs.
Microsoft’s deep investment in OpenAI has been transformative, integrating advanced AI across its Office and Azure platforms—more than doubling its stock price since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022.
Its capital spending guidance is the largest ever for a single quarter, potentially outpacing rivals over the next year. Competitors are responding: Meta boosted its AI-related spending after beating Q3 revenue expectations, while Alphabet also raised its forecast, highlighting the intensifying AI race in Silicon Valley.
Amazon, the top U.S. cloud provider, saw its shares rise 1.7% ahead of its earnings report, as Wall Street confidence climbs following back-to-back revenue records since late 2022. 
Microsoft’s stock gains have also been helped by strategic layoffs and intensified AI focus, as the company aims to lead in enterprise adoption of artificial intelligence.
Despite concerns over upcoming U.S. tariffs, Microsoft’s strong financials show no signs of impact—solidifying its position as a frontrunner in the AI-driven tech boom.
