Microsoft added nearly US$450-billion in market value on Thursday, the largest one-day gain on record for any company, after it forecast stronger-than-expected cloud growth and signalled continued cash generation through its new fiscal year.

The software giant’s shares closed up more than 15%, lifting its market capitalisation to $3.35-trillion, surpassing chip giant Nvidia’s previous record one-day gain of $441-billion on 9 April, 2025, according to LSEG data.

“Microsoft reported a very strong quarter and it struck the tone markets are looking to hear as the key drivers of growth came from the cloud and AI divisions,” said Brian Mulberry, chief market strategist at Zacks Investment Management.

The results offered fresh evidence that Microsoft’s massive AI investments are beginning to pay off, helping ease investor concerns that heavy spending on data centres and computing infrastructure could outpace demand.

Microsoft has lagged some of its “Magnificent Seven” peers this year, with its stock down more than 18% up to Wednesday’s close. At least nine brokerages raised the target price on the stock, with the mean target now $560.90.

Microsoft said its spending plans remain unchanged and that it expects capital expenditures of $50-billion for the fiscal first quarter of 2027 and $175-billion for the 2026 calendar year.

Azure pumping

In its first quarter, Microsoft expects Azure to grow 45% on a constant-currency basis, well above analysts’ estimate of a 40.92% increase, according to Visible Alpha data.

Read: Microsoft moves to remake computing around AI

“The key question was whether it could shift the conversation from how much it is spending on AI to what it is earning from those investments, and the results suggested meaningful progress,” Direxion’s head of capital markets, Jake Behan, said. — Anhata Rooprai, with Noel Randewich, (c) 2026 Reuters