New York, May 28, 2026, 16:02 (EDT)
- Microsoft shares changed hands 3.4% higher at $426.52, outpacing most tech-focused ETFs.
- Microsoft is set to announce its own artificial intelligence models next week, Reuters said, including a coding model that will be used for GitHub Copilot.
- Investors are watching Azure demand and AI sales, but the gains have to stand up to rising costs and more rivals.
Microsoft shares rose in late trading Thursday after a report said the company is getting ready to announce new in-house AI models next week. One of the models is aimed at coding and is designed to boost usage of GitHub Copilot, the developer tool.
Microsoft is looking to show that its AI push means more than just rising data-center costs. Reuters, citing The Information, said Microsoft will unveil the models at its Build developer event in San Francisco. Models for transcription, reasoning, speech and images are also planned, according to the report. Reuters said Microsoft declined to comment on the story.
Microsoft traded at $426.52 late, up $13.85, or 3.4%. More than 32 million shares changed hands. It reached $429.34 at its high, putting the market cap around $3.18 trillion. QQQ was ahead 0.9% and SPY gained 0.6%.
Bullish sentiment from the broader tape gave a lift, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq pushing to intraday highs Thursday after headlines pointed to progress on a U.S.-Iran ceasefire extension. Fresh inflation numbers left some caution in play. Microsoft gained 3.8% as of 2:04 p.m. EDT after its coding-model report, and the tech sector was up about 1.6%, according to Reuters. “Traders were on a hair trigger” around deal talk, Jamie Cox of Harris Financial Group said. Cox warned inflation could linger longer than some investors hope. Reuters
Microsoft’s new coding drive puts the focus back on rivalries in AI. Reuters reported Microsoft mostly uses models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google for GitHub Copilot. Anthropic’s Claude Code is catching up quickly in AI software tools. Google, along with Amazon, keeps up pressure with its own AI plans, which is pushing Microsoft’s software and cloud to do more.
Microsoft posted fiscal third-quarter revenue of $82.9 billion, up 18%. Azure and other cloud-services revenue climbed 40%. CEO Satya Nadella said Microsoft’s AI business has hit an annualized revenue run rate of $37 billion. CFO Amy Hood pointed to “strong execution and growing demand” for Microsoft Cloud. The stock still has a lot to answer for. Microsoft Corporation
Investors aren’t just focused on OpenAI. HSBC analyst Stephen Bersey sees Microsoft’s linkup with Anthropic as a possible big win for revenue, MarketWatch said. He puts Azure’s annual opportunity at $43 billion if Microsoft manages to land 30% of Anthropic’s expected compute demand by 2030. Bersey is sticking with a $571 price target for the shares.
Microsoft said Anthropic locked in $30 billion in Azure compute purchases as of November, along with another gigawatt of contracted capacity. Nvidia and Microsoft each also put up commitments to invest as much as $10 billion and $5 billion, respectively, in Anthropic.
Messy math is a risk here. AI models might make the news but may not lure developers from other platforms. Building data centers costs money and time. If inflation hangs on or investors worry that Microsoft is overspending to hold its lead, the gains from Thursday could disappear fast.
Microsoft’s report put the market on notice: the company is not relying on partners to drive the tempo right now. The focus shifts to Build next, where traders want details on model quality, Copilot traction, pricing, and if the new tools will actually bring in AI revenue without raising fresh concerns about spending.
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