Microsoft shares fell to $371.23 in after-hours trading on March 25, a 0.41% decline. The stock has dropped approximately 21% year-to-date as investors scrutinize the return on massive artificial intelligence investments.
Microsoft projected $120 billion in capital expenditures for Azure AI infrastructure in fiscal 2026. The company reported $3.1 billion in OpenAI investment losses for Q1 FY2026, up from $523 million during the same period last year.
OpenAI recently signed a $50 billion agreement to host its Frontier platform on Amazon Web Services, ending Azure's exclusivity. Microsoft is responding by accelerating development of its proprietary MAI-1 models to reduce strategic dependency on the partnership.