Microsoft Stock Hits $500: A Pivotal Moment Ahead of Earnings

Microsoft's stock is currently trading at $499.86, testing a pivotal level ahead of its fiscal 2026 earnings report. This marks a violent round trip for the shares, which have bounced between the low $500s and high $380s.

The company has delivered strong results in recent quarters, including a 17.75% year-over-year revenue growth to $90.007 billion in Q4. Azure's full-year revenue crossed $100 billion for the first time, growing 43% in Q4, driven by AI services that contributed more than 11 percentage points to Azure growth.

Copilot has reached 30 million paid seats against a 400 million Office 365 addressable base, with bulls arguing that paying a modest multiple of 25 times forward earnings for the AI infrastructure winner is justified. However, bears point to free cash flow compression and concerns over capex intensity and Copilot monetization timing.