New York, February 16, 2026, 10:03 EST — Market closed.
Microsoft Corp traded at $401.32, a dip of 0.15% from Friday’s finish. Shares have tumbled nearly 17% since the start of the year, erasing about $613 billion in market cap. That puts the company’s valuation at around $2.98 trillion as of Friday, according to a Reuters analysis, as questions swirl around its AI bets and the mounting challenge from Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude Cowork.
With U.S. stock markets shut for Presidents Day, investors pause before trading resumes on Tuesday, Feb. 17, setting up a week trimmed by the holiday.
Microsoft faces a tangled question here: Will its revenue growth close the gap with heavy data center and chip capex, and can it stay ahead while competitors race out fresh AI business software?
This week, investors are eyeing a slew of U.S. data points that could shift rate bets and rattle tech valuations. Tuesday, retail sales numbers land. Then come the Fed’s January meeting minutes on Wednesday.
Microsoft shares are still feeling the drag from last earnings season. Back in late January, the company logged record AI spending and flagged a slowdown in cloud growth—details that sent the stock lower after hours.
During the earnings call, CFO Amy Hood told analysts that Azure’s growth could have topped 40% if all new chips had gone to Azure. Instead, she said, some of that capacity was used internally. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that OpenAI now makes up 45% of Microsoft’s cloud backlog — contracts for future sales — intensifying concerns about risk from heavy reliance on a single customer.
Regulatory pressure isn’t letting up. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has ramped up its examination of Microsoft’s licensing and cloud operations, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing sources familiar with the situation.
Microsoft in December declared a $0.91 per share quarterly dividend, setting Feb. 19 as the ex-dividend date. That’s when buyers lose the right to collect the next payment. The actual dividend lands March 12.
But things can change fast. Robust economic numbers might send bond yields climbing, putting pressure on tech stocks. On the other hand, any hint that AI demand is cooling would fuel questions about how much longer Microsoft and others will keep up this level of spending.
Nvidia’s quarterly results call lands on Feb. 25—one to watch for anyone tracking the AI supply chain. The event has a tendency to send waves through the chip and cloud space supporting Microsoft’s expansion efforts.
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