Microsoft fell 6.2% in trading in Frankfurt on 29 January 2026, or several billion dollars of its market capitalization, with investors worried about record levels of investment in artificial intelligence and a slowdown in cloud growth.
Income Falls Short of Expectations
In the second quarter of the 2026 fiscal year, the company surpassed analyst estimates and realized revenues of $81.3 billion, up 17 % YoY, and earnings per share of $4.14 as compared to the expected profits of $3.93.
Microsoft Cloud generated $51.5 bn in revenue, which is 26% higher than it was the year before, and it owes much of this to uploading a 39% growth in Azure.
Nevertheless, spending on capital grew by 66% to $37.5 bn, of which two-thirds was based on artificial-intelligence GPUs and infrastructure, and this shrunk operating margins of previous year.
The Company Statement.
We are only at the beginning phases of AI diffusion and already Microsoft has built an AI business that is larger than some of our biggest franchises.
Said Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft.
We are pushing the frontier across our entire AI stack to drive new value for our customers and partners.
Expert View on the Dip
Said Emarketer principal analyst Jeremy Goldman.
Microsoft didn’t declare victory on AI-but it made a credible case that the spending has a path to payback.
Path Forward
The broad scope of Microsoft investment in artificial intelligence in prospective analysis will be solidifying its long-term operations in the market that is highly likely to dominate as more industries are quickening in the use of AI.
Although short-term market fluctuations have persisted because of the increased capital spending and compressing of the margin, the diversified operating model of Microsoft, supported by an effective balance sheet, provides the company with some financial strength.
As the AI features get firmly ingrained into its cloud applications and business solutions, it is believed that Microsoft will transform these investments into long-term growth trends and improved investor trust.