Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Forecasts 37%-38% Azure Growth as Investors Question Heavy Outlays

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)  is among the 12 Best Autonomous Driving Stocks to Buy Right Now.

On January 29, 2026, Bloomberg reported that following reports of record spending and slowing cloud growth, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares dropped as much as 11% to $429.24, the largest intraday decline since March 2020. Azure’s revenue climbed by 38% during the quarter, which was slower than the previous quarter but still met forecasts. Capital expenditures totaled $37.5 billion, exceeding projections and rising 66% year over year. Returns were questioned by investors as spending outpaced Azure’s growth. The corporation projects that Azure will expand by 37% to 38% in the upcoming quarter.

Profit was $5.16 per share, up $1.02 from gains related to OpenAI, while total revenue climbed 17% to $81.3 billion. Businesses are paying for 15 million subscriptions to M365 Copilot. Customer backlog has more than doubled to $625 billion, with OpenAI accounting for 45%, boosted by a new $250 billion transaction. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) stated that capacity challenges persist after significant data center investment.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) creates and licenses consumer and enterprise software.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.