Microsoft NASDAQ:MSFT, a software and cloud-computing company operating the Azure platform, rose approximately 0.9% in Friday's regular-session trading as of 10:19 a.m. ET after recording the largest single-day market-value gain by any company. The stock advanced approximately 15% Thursday, adding nearly $450 billion and lifting Microsoft's market capitalization to about $3.35 trillion. That gain surpassed the previous one-day record of approximately $441 billion established by NVIDIA, an AI-chip designer, in April 2025.
Microsoft forecast Azure cloud-revenue growth of approximately 45%, compared with the 40.92% rate analysts had expected. Management also projected roughly $50 billion of capital expenditure during its fiscal first quarter of 2027. The company could spend approximately $175 billion during calendar 2026 as it adds data centers, processors and other infrastructure supporting AI services. At least nine brokerages raised their price targets following the results, producing an average target of approximately $560.90.
Microsoft's $450 billion one-day increase exceeded the previous corporate record by approximately $9 billion, illustrating how strongly investors responded to accelerating cloud growth. Friday's smaller advance suggests the market was continuing to digest the outlook after the initial repricing rather than repeating Thursday's unusually large move. Investors may now assess whether Azure can deliver the forecast 45% growth while Microsoft deploys $50 billion during a single quarter. Cloud capacity, AI-service demand and the effect of capital expenditure on future cash flow could determine whether Thursday's valuation increase receives sustained financial support.