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On Monday, Stifel analysts, led by Brad Reback, have maintained their Buy rating on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), with a steady price target of $515.00. According to InvestingPro data, Microsoft currently trades near its 52-week high of $468.35, with an overall consensus rating of 1.42 (Strong Buy) from Wall Street analysts. Reback anticipates a transitional period for the tech giant as the market looks forward to the second half of the fiscal year 2025 for potential acceleration in Azure's growth, more clarity on future capital expenditures, the strategy for Office Copilot's monetization, and the impact of foreign exchange headwinds.
The analyst observed that while Azure's consumption trends seem consistent quarter-over-quarter, a slightly higher than expected performance is projected. This modest beat is estimated to be between 50 to 100 basis points above the company's guidance of 31-32% year-over-year growth on a constant currency basis. This growth complements Microsoft's overall revenue growth of 16.44% over the last twelve months, as reported by InvestingPro. The previous quarter's revenue was positively impacted by in-period revenue recognition, and there is a possibility that increased Azure capacity could offer additional support.
Looking ahead, the Stifel team expects Azure's growth to modestly increase in the second half of the fiscal year. This outlook is partly based on reports indicating that NVIDIA's major customers are postponing orders of Blackwell products due to overheating issues. Microsoft's shift in focus towards inferencing and away from Stargate is likely to keep capital expenditures around the low $20 billion range, with future investments leaning more towards compute resources.
In terms of Office, the analyst predicts stable mid-teen growth, balanced between Professional and Qualified users. The upgrades to the E5 version are believed to be outpacing the adoption of the new Copilot feature. The company's strategic moves and product offerings are closely monitored by investors as they could significantly influence Microsoft's financial performance in the near future. With Microsoft's next earnings report due in just 2 days, InvestingPro subscribers can access over 30 additional financial metrics and insights to prepare for this crucial announcement.
In other recent news, Microsoft Corporation has been the focus of several analyst evaluations, with Raymond (NSE:RYMD) James maintaining a strong buy rating and a $480 target. Bernstein also maintained an outperform rating, with a target of $516, while TD Cowen reiterated a buy rating with a price target of $475. KeyBanc Capital Markets held their $575 target, despite concerns about Azure's growth. However, UBS analysts see limited immediate upside for Azure, despite an overall positive outlook for cloud infrastructure spending.
Microsoft's Executive Vice President, Christopher D. Young, resigned effective immediately. The company is also involved in the Stargate Project, a proposed investment of up to $500 billion over the next four years to expand AI infrastructure in the U.S. Microsoft, along with Nvidia Corp . (NASDAQ:NVDA), will also provide technology support for a $100 billion joint venture in the AI sector involving SoftBank (TYO:9984) Group Corp., OpenAI, and Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL).
Kopin Corp has expressed interest in the U.S. Army's recompetition process for Microsoft's Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) production contract, leading to a buy rating from a Lake Street Capital Markets analyst. These are recent developments in the technology industry.
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