Microsoft experienced an unprecedented surge in its stock value, gaining $450 billion in a single day, marking the largest one-day increase in market history. The company’s shares closed up 16% on Wall Street, their biggest rise in nearly two decades, driven by strong demand for its artificial intelligence (AI) services.
The notable increase followed the release of Microsoft’s financial results, which highlighted a 30% growth in sales for its Azure cloud division. Azure provides cloud services catering to AI clients, an area that has seen significant expansion. Microsoft’s performance came alongside robust results from Amazon, which reported a 37% rise in sales for its cloud unit, AWS, totaling $42.2 billion. The growth at Amazon was also fueled by heightened demand for AI-related services.
In contrast, Apple’s latest earnings failed to meet investor expectations. The technology company cited weaker-than-anticipated sales in China and slowed growth in its services segment. Additionally, ongoing chip shortages compelled Apple to increase prices on products such as Macs and iPads. Following the earnings report, Apple’s shares declined approximately 3% in after-hours trading. This quarter’s results mark the final report under the leadership of CEO Tim Cook, who is set to be succeeded by John Ternus.
Meanwhile, Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, faced a challenging session as shares dropped more than 10% at the opening of U.S. markets. The decline erased over $130 billion from Meta’s market value and approximately $20 billion from Mark Zuckerberg’s personal wealth. The sharp selloff was linked to investor concerns over Meta’s heavy investments in AI, which have affected the company’s profitability.
Meta has committed substantial resources toward AI, including recruiting leading researchers and expanding data center infrastructure. The company aims to integrate AI-driven “agents” across its user platforms as part of a broader strategic vision. Although Meta’s shares recovered partially during the trading day, closing down about 8%, the market remains cautious about the impact of these investments.
Overall, these developments illustrate a mixed landscape in the U.S. technology sector, with some companies capitalizing on the AI boom while others grapple with supply chain constraints and escalating costs.