Microsoft Reports Earnings After the Bell: Here Are the 3 Biggest Questions I Have

Microsoft reports earnings after the bell with Wall Street expecting fiscal Q3 EPS of $4.06 on about $81.4 billion in revenue. Markets will watch Azure and AI-related metrics closely: management had guided ~37%–38% annual Azure growth, Azure backlog was reported as 45% tied to OpenAI last quarter, and Copilot paid seats stood at 15 million. Recent revisions to the Microsoft–OpenAI agreement and signs of OpenAI missing revenue targets raise questions about near-term compute demand and Azure revenue trajectory. Given Microsoft’s pullback earlier this year, an upbeat report or stronger AI traction could trigger a notable move higher in MSFT shares, while any weakness on AI adoption or guidance could weigh on the stock and the broader tech cohort.