NEW YORK, Jan 8, 2026, 18:11 EST — After-hours
Microsoft Corp shares fell 1.1% in after-hours trading on Thursday to $478.11, after swinging between $475.87 and $482.98 in the regular session.
The dip keeps Microsoft (MSFT) tied to a familiar trade: investors are still willing to pay for growth, but they want cleaner proof that spending on artificial intelligence can turn into revenue and cash, not just new features.
That test is getting louder as Big Tech rolls out more “agentic” tools — software that can take steps for a user, not only answer questions — and as the bill for chips and data centers remains heavy.
Microsoft said earlier on Thursday it is rolling out “Copilot Checkout” in the United States on Copilot.com, letting shoppers complete purchases inside a chat instead of jumping out to a retailer’s site. The company said retailers stay the “merchant of record,” meaning they remain the seller on the transaction, and it listed PayPal, Shopify and Stripe as partners, with Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Ashley Furniture and Etsy sellers among early participants. “The retailers that thrive will be the ones that unify their business with intelligence,” Kathleen Mitford, a corporate vice president at Microsoft, said in a statement. Source
PayPal said it will power branded checkout, guest checkout and credit card payments for Copilot Checkout starting with Copilot.com. “PayPal’s leadership in commerce, payments and trusted relationships with hundreds of millions of consumers and merchants over 25 years make them an ideal partner,” said Nayna Sheth, Microsoft’s head of product for agentic payments. PayPal Newsroom
Microsoft’s stock fell with other megacap tech names on Thursday as the Nasdaq slid 0.44%, while Nvidia dropped 2.2% and Broadcom declined 3.2%, a reminder that investors have become more selective about AI-linked winners. “It’s become a ‘show me’ sector. Show me how you monetize this,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. Reuters
But the commerce push also carries execution risk. Copilot’s shopping tool lands in a crowded field of chatbots experimenting with “buy” buttons and AI agents that steer purchases, and it could sharpen questions about how recommendations are ranked and who takes a cut of each sale. The Verge
Microsoft will publish fiscal second-quarter results after the market closes on Jan. 28, with a webcast of the earnings call scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Pacific, the company said. Traders are likely to focus on cloud demand, spending tied to AI infrastructure, and whether Copilot’s newer features start to move the revenue needle without pressuring margins.
