Microsoft Becomes Second Company to Hit $4 Trillion Market Valuation
Microsoft has joined Nvidia in the exclusive $4 trillion valuation club, becoming the second company in history to reach the milestone. The tech giant’s shares surged nearly 4.5% on Thursday, lifting its market value to $4.01 trillion after a strong earnings report the previous evening.
The company’s stock has climbed about 28% since January, fueled by booming demand for artificial intelligence services and robust growth in its Azure cloud business. Microsoft also reported record quarterly capital spending, with plans to invest $30 billion in the coming fiscal quarter to expand its AI infrastructure.
Wall Street analysts credited Microsoft’s AI-powered Copilot tool for boosting sales of its Microsoft 365 enterprise software, further cementing its AI advantage. The company’s partnership with OpenAI has been a key driver of its growth, integrating advanced AI models into its Office Suite and Azure offerings since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022.
Microsoft previously crossed the $1 trillion mark in 2019 and $3 trillion just 18 months ago. Its rise has been steadier compared to Nvidia, which tripled its value in about a year and became the first $4 trillion company earlier this month.
Despite its soaring valuation, Microsoft has been cutting costs. The company announced in July that it would lay off about 9,000 employees, roughly 4% of its workforce, following an earlier round of 6,000 job cuts in May. CEO Satya Nadella has said AI is already generating 20–30% of the company’s code, underscoring how new technologies are reshaping operations.
Microsoft’s rapid ascent reflects both investor confidence in its AI strategy and resilience in the face of global economic uncertainty, including US trade tensions. With Azure now its largest revenue driver, the company has positioned itself at the forefront of the generative AI race against rivals like Google and Amazon.
