Redmond, Washington — April 15, 2026, 14:03 PDT
Microsoft stock climbed roughly 4.5% Wednesday, building on several days of gains. Barron’s cited new findings from a KeyBanc survey showing increased enterprise appetite for Azure—Microsoft’s cloud service—and for Copilot, the company’s AI tool targeting office productivity. Earnings for the fiscal third quarter are slated for April 29.
This is a key moment for Microsoft, which now stands as a gauge for a larger issue dogging big tech: will the billions poured into AI infrastructure actually drive enough gains in cloud and software? Investors have been anxious for months—worried about AI shaking up the software industry and questioning if Microsoft can convert its heavy spending into revenue at the pace they want. The April 29 report is shaping up as the next major test.
Barron’s reported that KeyBanc is sticking with its Overweight call and a $600 price target, after its latest survey found almost half of IT and cybersecurity execs now have Copilot running in live environments—that’s a jump of 14 points from the last quarter. The survey also flagged that 85% expect to boost Azure spending, the strongest reading for that metric in five quarters.
All eyes now turn to the report ahead. Microsoft posted a 17% revenue jump for the December quarter. Azure clocked in even higher, up 39%. Reuters said Microsoft is now expecting Azure growth of 37% to 38% for the January-to-March stretch.
Here’s another straightforward argument for the bulls: Microsoft remains a profit machine. A Simply Wall St breakdown published by Futunn this week highlighted annual EPS growth of 21% over three years, revenue up 17% to $305 billion, and margins holding firm.
Bernstein’s Mark Moerdler thinks the stock might be “bouncing along a bottom,” according to MarketWatch. He points to the potential for Azure growth to pick up in the next two quarters as those earlier AI hardware buys begin translating into revenue. Moerdler still isn’t sure about the exact timing, but after the recent decline, he says the stock is starting to look more attractive as an entry. MarketWatch
Microsoft doesn’t get to make its move in isolation. Amazon last week put its AI services revenue inside AWS at an annualized pace topping $15 billion. Over at Google, Reuters noted Cloud posted 48% growth in the December quarter; Azure managed 39%. The race with Amazon and Alphabet isn’t letting up.
Microsoft’s leadership has been clear about demand. Back in January, CEO Satya Nadella described a “record quarter” for Microsoft 365 Copilot seat additions, reporting 15 million paid seats—these are corporate subscriptions. CFO Amy Hood, for her part, noted that “customer demand continues to exceed our supply.” Microsoft
The rebound remains on shaky ground. April 29 needs to deliver stronger Azure growth; otherwise, or if capital spending—covering data centers, chips, big-ticket infrastructure—chews into margins, the mood could sour fast. Microsoft is still bracing for capacity constraints through June, according to Reuters, and last week brought new jitters to software stocks after Anthropic’s latest AI model spooked part of the sector.
Investors are circling back to Microsoft for the moment. Still, with shares on the move Wednesday, focus just sharpens on the upcoming earnings and conference call slated for month’s end.
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