CHDN

In 2024 and 2025, the Magnificent Seven stocks often traded as a block. That meant what was good for one was generally good for all, and vice versa. In 2026, that correlation has weakened. Ironically, the same factor that brought them together (AI) is now breaking them apart.

For investors, that means it's time to separate the winners from the losers. The dividing line is simple. Can a company turn AI spending into revenue fast enough to keep cash flowing? Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT just delivered an earnings report that shows why it's one of the winners heading into 2027.

For the first quarter of its fiscal year 2027 (FY2027), Microsoft delivered revenue of $92.28 billion and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $4.89. Both beat analysts’ forecasts of roughly $90.6 billion and $4.73. Revenue grew 19% year over year, while adjusted EPS rose 18%

The report showed that Microsoft is successfully monetizing AI while continuing to invest heavily in AI infrastructure. This is the key metric that will separate the Mag 7 trade. Management also guided for faster cloud growth in the next quarter, suggesting this momentum isn’t a one-quarter event.

Azure Continues to Do the Heavy Lifting

Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, generated $33.17 billion in revenue in the quarter. That’s 48% higher than a year ago. It also topped the company’s own forecast of 44% to 45% growth.

Azure is now the engine of the whole company. Its revenue rose by about $10.8 billion year over year. That accounts for roughly three-quarters of Microsoft’s total revenue increase.

The growth came despite a supply problem. Some third-party data center capacity Microsoft expected in the quarter arrived late. Chief financial officer (CFO) Amy Hood said that “we still have demand that exceeds supply.”

So how did Azure beat its forecast with less capacity than planned? Engineering gains let Microsoft get more work out of its existing servers. That freed up capacity for Foundry, its platform for building AI apps and agents. Foundry revenue more than tripled year over year.

Management expects Azure growth to accelerate again, to 49% to 50%, in the fiscal second quarter. Microsoft’s commercial backlog also grew 73% to $677 billion. That’s a large pool of contracted revenue still waiting to be recognized.

Microsoft Is the Adult in the Room

Let's be clear. Spending $45 billion on capital expenditures (CapEx) is not a small number. In fact, it was 29.5% higher than in the same quarter last year. However, it was $5 billion less than the company's prior guidance of $50 billion.

Investors shouldn’t read that as a spending cut. Hood attributed the shortfall to the same delayed third-party capacity deliveries. That spending has simply shifted to later quarters.

Hood guided for CapEx of more than $50 billion in the fiscal second quarter. She expects calendar year 2026 spending of about $170 billion. That’s down slightly from the roughly $175 billion outlook Microsoft gave in July. Spending should then accelerate in the first half of 2027, led by chips, memory, and storage.

So why call Microsoft the adult in the room? Because it’s paying for the buildout with cash it generates. Operating cash flow rose 29% to $58 billion. Free cash flow fell 27% to $18.6 billion, but it remained solidly positive.

Here's a key data point. Hood also said Microsoft expects to stay free cash flow positive for all of fiscal 2027. She noted the company hasn’t yet tapped the debt markets to finance its AI buildout. It still returned $10.2 billion to shareholders in the quarter.

Not every Mag 7 peer can say the same. Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOGL, which also reported on Oct. 28, posted negative free cash flow for a second straight quarter. That contrast is exactly why these stocks no longer move as one.

Buy the Report, Not the Price Action

MSFT soared after the earnings report and into pre-market trading on Oct. 29. But after the opening bell, it gave back those gains and was trading lower during the session.

That's common due to the prevalence of high-speed trading programs, which can cause volatile price movement in either direction. Some investors may also be taking profits after a run of more than 30% since late July. Still, the stock is holding above its 50-day moving average near $512. Investors should focus on the earnings report, not the price action.

The Microsoft analyst forecasts on MarketBeat show that Cantor Fitzgerald and Piper Sandler, among others, raised their price targets on MSFT to $630 and $650, respectively, the morning after the report. Both are substantially higher than the consensus price target of about $600. For investors sorting Mag 7 winners from losers, this report puts Microsoft firmly in the first group.

Should You Invest $1,000 in Microsoft Right Now?

Before you consider Microsoft, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Microsoft wasn't on the list.

While Microsoft currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here