Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) delivered a blowout fourth-quarter earnings report on Wednesday, sending shares higher after-hours and drawing sharp praise from prominent market voices as bullish sentiment around the artificial intelligence trade deepened.

Wealth Manager Says AI Payoff Is Durable

Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki, said Microsoft is “crushing it” in an X post, calling the results a reinforcement of the broader AI trade. Gerber said AI’s productivity benefits are real for users and predicted beneficiaries will keep investing well into the future.

He also noted he used an AI chat tool to prepare his MSFT-specific analysis, calling the company’s execution extremely strong.

Microsoft is crushing it. Totally reinforcing the AI trade! Its beneficiaries will continue to invest well into the future as AI’s productivity benefits are real for all who use it. (including my AI analyst (chat) who prepared MSFT analysis specific to my liking) – Microsoft is…

— Ross Gerber (@GerberKawasaki) July 30, 2026

Cramer Calls Quarter a ‘Tour De Force’

CNBC’s Jim Cramer, also in a post on X, said he was “blown away” by the results, calling the quarter a “tour de force.” He admitted concern earlier over an oversized position tied to the company, but praised CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood as “incredible.”

Just blown away by the Microsoft quarter. Tour de force. Didn't see it coming because was worried about the trust's oversized load position in it. Satya and Amy–incredible.. Just amazing… HOF

— Jim Cramer (@jimcramer) July 30, 2026

Fourth-Quarter Numbers Back the Optimism

Microsoft posted its 14th straight double beat, with revenue of $90.01 billion, up 18% year-over-year, and earnings per share of $4.74. Cloud revenue rose 27% and Azure grew 43%, topping $100 billion for the fiscal year. According to Nadella, Copilot has surpassed 30 million paid users.

Capital expenditures and finance leases jumped 69% to $41 billion as AI demand outpaced supply. CFO Hood said Microsoft can dial back GPU spending if needed, noting “you just slow down” the largest component.

Trading Metrics, Technical Analysis

Microsoft has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, with a 52-week high of $555.45 and a 52-week low of $349.20. The company has 7.43 billion shares outstanding.

The tech giant’s stock has a Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 50.02, while its short interest stands at 1.2%.

Since the start of the year, MSFT’s share price has declined by 17.42%.

On Thursday, Piper Sandler (NYSE:PIPR) analyst Billy Fitzsimmons raised his price target on Microsoft to $550 from $540, maintaining an Overweight rating.

Price Action: According to Benzinga Pro, the large-cap stock closed the regular session on Wednesday at $390.54, down 0.71%. In pre-market trading on Thursday, MSFT shares surged 8.13% to $422.30.

Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that MSFT has a strong Value score of 91.48 and a positive price trend across all time frames.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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