GoKawiilMicrosoft shares jumped in premarket trading while Meta tanked as investors gave differing verdicts on the two tech giants' earnings.
Shares of Microsoft were last 9% higher while Meta was down 9%.
On Wednesday, Microsoft posted fiscal fourth-quarter revenue that beat analyst estimates and reported 43% growth at its key Azure cloud business, which was also ahead of market expectations.
The company said that it now has over 30 million paid seats for Microsoft 365 Copilot, its AI work assistant, up from more than 20 million as of April, in further signs that parts of its AI investments are paying off.
"Microsoft's strong revenue performance, combined with accelerating Copilot adoption, signals that its $190 billion data‑center buildout is beginning to deliver returns," Tracy Woo, principal analyst at Forrester, said in a note on Wednesday.
Microsoft's stock popped even as the company reiterated its 2026 capital expenditure forecast and signaled a potential spending expansion in its 2027 fiscal year at a time when the market is jittery over the cost of AI.
The stock rose 8% higher in extended trading on Wednesday and is down around 24% this year.