NEW YORK, Jan 10, 2026, 09:35 EST — Market closed
- Microsoft shares edged up 0.2% on Friday, closing at $479.28 ahead of the weekend market close.
- The company launched “Copilot Checkout” alongside new retail-focused “agentic AI” tools, stepping further into shopping and payments.
- Coming up: U.S. CPI data on Jan. 13, followed by Microsoft’s fiscal Q2 earnings on Jan. 28.
Microsoft Corp’s (MSFT.O) newest move to transform its Copilot chatbot into a shopping and checkout hub comes as investors begin recalibrating their 2026 AI revenue forecasts. The stock closed Friday slightly higher, gaining 0.2% to $479.28.
Timing is key. Big tech has driven much of the index rally, yet traders are now questioning what follows the flashy AI demos — particularly for firms investing heavily in data centers, chips, and software to stay competitive.
Megacaps have turned jittery amid a “show me” sentiment. Microsoft dropped 1.1% Thursday amid a tech selloff. Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth, noted: “While AI is still hot, there are going to be winners and losers.” reuters.com
Microsoft on Thursday introduced what it calls “agentic AI” for retailers — software designed to anticipate needs and act autonomously, rather than just responding to prompts. It also announced that Copilot Checkout is now live in the U.S. on Copilot.com, allowing shoppers to complete purchases without being redirected, while merchants remain the merchant of record. “The retailers that thrive will be the ones that unify their business with intelligence,” said Microsoft corporate vice president Kathleen Mitford. Source
PayPal, a launch partner, announced it will handle merchant inventory surfacing and checkout processes—including guest checkout and card payments—starting with Copilot.com. “We are enabling seamless, reliable transactions for both merchants and consumers,” said Michelle Gill, PayPal’s GM of small business and financial services. PayPal Newsroom
The shopping space is filling up quickly. OpenAI, Google, and Perplexity are all rolling out AI-powered shopping and checkout tools, as retailers and platforms weigh just how much control to cede to chat-driven discovery.
Payments and fintech remain a hot battleground. Fiserv announced plans to roll out Microsoft 365 Copilot company-wide and boost its use of Microsoft Foundry, an AI app platform powered by Azure. “We’re transforming how Fiserv delivers the next generation of innovation for our clients,” said vice chairman Guy Chiarello. Fiserv, Inc.
The broader market backed the rally. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to 6,966.28 on Friday, hitting yet another record high. The Nasdaq advanced 0.8% to 23,671.35, shrugging off a mixed U.S. jobs report that sent yields in different directions.
Microsoft’s stock has been stuck in a narrow range lately. According to Barchart, it’s been trading sideways for roughly two months. The shares hovered near $492 a month ago and touched $496.82 on Nov. 7, before sliding to around $475 in Friday’s morning session.
The bigger wildcard remains earnings. Microsoft is set to release its fiscal second-quarter results on Jan. 28. According to MarketBeat, analysts expect roughly $79.9 billion in revenue and $3.89 earnings per share. The company’s own guidance projects revenue between $79.5 billion and $80.6 billion for the quarter.
Still, the risks run both ways. Should rates climb once more, high-multiple megacaps could face sharp sell-offs. Plus, it might be a while before new Copilot commerce features translate into actual revenue. On top of that, competition is heating up as AI “assistants” scramble to claim the default spot for shopping interfaces.
Traders are zeroed in on one key data point: U.S. CPI for December, set for release Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Federal Reserve follows with its policy meeting on Jan. 27-28, coinciding with Microsoft’s earnings report after the market close.
