Microsoft Market Value Hits Record Single-Day Increase

Shares of Microsoft Corp. surged as much as 17% on July 31, 2026, adding $490 billion to its market capitalization. This jump marked the largest one-day increase in market value in history, surpassing the previous record of $440 billion held by Nvidia Corp. The rally followed fiscal fourth-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations, with revenue reaching approximately $90 billion—an 18 percent year-over-year increase—and adjusted earnings per share of $4.74.

Growth was driven by the Azure cloud unit, which grew 43 percent in the fourth quarter and surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time. CEO Satya Nadella disclosed that the company's AI business is operating at a $37 billion annual pace and that Microsoft 365 Copilot has reached over 30 million paid seats. Financial gains also came from strategic investments, including a $3.2 billion gain from Anthropic and a $5 billion full-year gain from OpenAI.

Investors responded positively to the company's capital expenditure strategy. While Microsoft spent approximately $190 billion on infrastructure in calendar 2026, an accounting adjustment lowered that figure to $175 billion. This restrained approach contrasted with Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com, both of which increased their AI spending forecasts. For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Microsoft provided revenue guidance between $89.85 billion and $90.95 billion.