Microsoft (MSFT) Named Morgan Stanley's Top Pick as CIOs See It Leading Generative AI Spending

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the Hot AI Stocks to Keep on Your Radar. On October 9, Morgan Stanley reiterated the stock as “Overweight,” calling it their “Top Pick in large-cap software,” and stating that its “valuation is still at a discount to peers.”

“Microsoft remains best positioned to capture incremental share of GenAI spend and IT budgets as workloads move to the cloud.”

The firm’s quarterly survey of chief information officers (CIO) further reveals how the company is in an ideal position to cash in on artificial-intelligence spending.

There were hundreds of U.S. and European CIOs polled between Aug. 5 and Sept. 9, of which 37% believe that Microsoft will claim the largest or second-largest share of additional generative AI spending in the next three years.

“Bottom line, Microsoft again remains the clearest beneficiary of GenAI spend.”

The firm also revealed from the survey that the company is likely to benefit from the migration of computing work to the cloud from on-premise servers.

Of the 100 respondents, forty-nine believe that Microsoft will gain from the largest additional share of IT budgets due to the transition to the cloud in the next three years. Twelve said Amazon while six answered Salesforce, amongst some other smaller players.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) provides AI-powered cloud, productivity, and business solutions, focusing on efficiency, security, and AI advancements.

While we acknowledge the potential of MSFT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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