TLDR
- Microsoft (MSFT) stock opened at $543.45 on Wednesday, up 0.4% and just below its one-year high of $553.72.
- The company reported more than $130 billion in new data center leases, bringing unstarted lease commitments to $329.1 billion.
- The daily chart shows an uptrend testing its all-time high, with RSI at 70.73 and MACD still positive.
- Barclays raised its price target to $600 from $512, and the average analyst target is $581.80.
- Fiscal first-quarter earnings are due October 28, with analysts expecting $4.72 per share on $90.4 billion in revenue.
Microsoft (MSFT) stock opened at $543.45 on Wednesday, up 0.4%. That leaves it just below its one-year high of $553.72.
The move follows a filing showing more than $130 billion in new data center leases last quarter. It is the companyās biggest quarterly jump in leasing by far.
Lease commitments that have not yet started total $329.1 billion as of June 30. That compares with $196.6 billion in the prior period.
Investor relations chief Jonathan Neilson called it āa signal of the continued demand strength that we see.ā He said the leases will serve demand āfor many many years.ā
The costs will not reach the balance sheet until payments begin. Some of the leases depend on certain contractual conditions being met.
Microsoft has been short on capacity since it paused leasing through much of 2025. Management says demand still exceeds supply, and the commercial backlog is at a record.
What the Chart Shows
The daily chart shows a clear uptrend, with the stock testing its all-time high near $554. The gray zone between $505 and $518 was resistance and now looks like support, backed by a rising trendline near $495 to $510.
RSI reads 70.73, right at the overbought line, so a short pause would not be unusual. MACD sits above its signal line, 12.35 versus 10.17, with a positive histogram.
What to watch: A daily close above $554 would confirm a new high breakout, while a drop below the $505 to $518 zone could open the door to $495 and then $475.
Chips, Analysts and Insiders
Microsoft also revealed its Maia 300 AI chip. It says the chip delivers about 40% more tokens per megawatt or dollar than leading GPU systems.
Multi-gigawatt deployments are planned to begin in 2027. That could lower inference costs and cut reliance on Nvidia and AMD.
The company also introduced its Decision-1 model and new Surface devices. The model is described as faster and cheaper to run than rivals.
Barclays raised its price target to $600 from $512 and kept an overweight rating. BNP Paribas Exane cut the stock to hold from strong-buy on October 5.
Forty-two analysts rate the stock a Buy, four say Hold and two say Sell. The average target is $581.80.
Insiders sold $71.4 million of stock over the past three months. CEO Satya Nadella sold about $43.4 million at $501.46 on September 1, and EVP Amy Hood sold about $20.8 million at $498.27 on September 14, both under pre-arranged plans.
Microsoft is also cutting jobs again in Israel, and research chief Peter Lee is leaving for Mercedesā Formula 1 team. Norway fined its Xandr unit ā¬8.6 million over Grindr data sharing.
Microsoft last reported on July 29, with EPS of $4.74 against a $4.24 estimate. Revenue came in at $90.01 billion, up 17.7% from a year earlier, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 from $0.91, payable December 10.
Fiscal first-quarter results are due October 28. Analysts expect $4.72 per share on $90.4 billion in revenue.
Get 3 Free Stock Ebooks
Discover top-performing stocks in AI, Crypto, and Technology with expert analysis.
- Top 10 AI Stocks - Leading AI companies
- Top 10 Crypto Stocks - Blockchain leaders
- Top 10 Tech Stocks - Tech giants
