Microsoft poised for US$4 trillion valuation after solid results

Microsoft is set to soar past US$4 trillion in market valuation for the first time on Thursday (Jul 31), as a blockbuster earnings report helps the tech behemoth become the second company after Nvidia to surpass the milestone.

The software company forecast a record US$30 billion in capital spending for the current fiscal first quarter and reported booming sales in its Azure cloud computing business on Wednesday.

Shares of Microsoft were up 8.5 per cent at US$557.03 in early premarket trading, valuing it at US$4.14 trillion.

Redmond, Washington-headquartered Microsoft first cracked the US$1 trillion mark in April 2019.

Its move to US$3 trillion was more measured than other tech giants, Nvidia and Apple, with AI bellwether Nvidia tripling its value in just about a year and clinching the US$4 trillion milestone before any other company on Jul 9. Apple was last valued at US$3.12 trillion.

Lately, breakthroughs in trade talks between the US and its trading partners ahead of President Donald Trump’s August one tariff deadline have buoyed stocks, propelling the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to record highs.

BT in your inbox

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Microsoft, the second largest US company, has rebounded nearly 50 per cent from its April 2025 lows, when global markets were rattled by Trump’s tariff offensive.

Microsoft’s multibillion-US dollar bet on OpenAI is proving to be a game-changer, powering its Office Suite and Azure offerings with cutting-edge AI and fuelling the stock to more than double its value since ChatGPT’s late-2022 debut.

Armed with exclusive access to OpenAI’s models, Microsoft has raced to the front of the generative AI pack – supercharging its Azure cloud business, now the company’s top revenue driver, and solidifying its dominance in the tech landscape, compared to Google’s cloud and Amazon’s Web services.

Wall Street’s surging confidence in the company comes on the heels of back-to-back record revenues for the tech giant since September 2022.

The stock’s rally had also received an extra boost as the tech giant trimmed its workforce and doubled down on AI investments – determined to cement its lead as businesses everywhere race to harness the technology.

While sweeping US tariffs had investors bracing for tighter business spending, Microsoft’s strong earnings have shown that the company’s books are yet to take a hit from the levies. REUTERS