Microsoft stock jumped 15% and Meta fell 9% after earnings. See the numbers behind the microsoft meta results divide.
The microsoft meta results released Thursday sent the two tech giants in opposite directions, with Microsoft stock jumping more than 15% while Meta shares dropped over 9%, as investors weighed dueling stories about the payoff from massive artificial intelligence spending.
Microsoft's Azure Numbers Give Bulls Their Case
Microsoft beat expectations on both earnings per share and revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter, but the real driver was Azure, which grew 43% and pushed cloud revenue above $100 billion for the first time. Management guided for Azure sales to climb another 45% in the current quarter. Microsoft 365 Copilot seats also crossed 30 million, a sign that AI features are gaining traction with paying customers rather than sitting idle as a cost center.
CFO Amy Hood told analysts she expects growth to accelerate further in the first half of fiscal 2027, a comment that appeared to erase lingering doubts about whether years of AI infrastructure spending would eventually show up in the numbers. The stock had been down more than 20% over the trailing year heading into the report, so Thursday's rally amounted to a sharp reversal of sentiment rather than a modest bump.
Cost Controls Sweeten the Story for Microsoft
Hood also disclosed that Microsoft is stretching the useful life of its data centers and office buildings from 15 years to 25 years. That accounting shift matters because it moves future data center leases from finance leases into operating leases, which fall outside capital expenditures. In plain terms, it lets Microsoft keep expanding infrastructure while showing lower reported capex, a detail that clearly resonated with investors already nervous about how much AI buildouts are costing the company.
Meta's Cash Flow Collapse Overshadows the Quarter
Meta's results told a rougher story. Earnings per share missed estimates, though the company pointed to legal and severance charges as the culprit rather than a core business slowdown. The more alarming figure was free cash flow, which fell to $784 million from $8.5 billion a year earlier as Meta continues pouring money into AI infrastructure.
Investors also wanted clarity on Meta's capital spending plans for 2027, and the company chose not to provide guidance, leaving analysts to fill in the blanks themselves. Wall Street has been pressing CEO Mark Zuckerberg for months on whether Meta will start renting out its AI computing capacity to outside customers, a topic he has raised on prior earnings calls, at a shareholder event, and in a Bloomberg interview. On Thursday's call he said Meta has fielded offers for compute
