Microsoft’s $90.01 billion revenue and Azure growth beat estimates, while Meta’s cost pressures and guidance miss weighed on shares.
Microsoft surged 15% after reporting fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $90.01 billion, up 18% year-over-year and above the $87.62 billion estimate. Net income rose to $35.77 billion from $27.23 billion a year earlier, driven by a 43% jump in Azure cloud growth and 30 million paid seats for Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Meta fell over 8% as rising costs, weaker revenue guidance, and declining free cash flow disappointed investors. The company’s aggressive AI spending failed to offset concerns about profitability, contrasting with Microsoft’s visible AI monetization.
The divergence highlights investor preference for companies demonstrating clear returns on AI investments, with Microsoft’s cloud and AI growth outpacing expectations while Meta’s execution lagged.