NEW YORK — Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) shares fell more than 1% Thursday, trading around $416.39 in afternoon trading, as investors digested the latest quarterly results and weighed concerns over moderating cloud growth against the company's massive investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The modest decline came on above-average volume, reflecting some profit-taking after a strong run earlier in 2026.

The stock opened lower and remained under pressure throughout the session despite broader market gains. Microsoft's market capitalization slipped below the $3.1 trillion mark temporarily, though the company remains one of the world's most valuable publicly traded firms. Analysts described the move as "healthy digestion" rather than a fundamental shift in sentiment, noting that the dip follows several strong earnings beats and record highs in recent months.

Microsoft reported solid fiscal third-quarter results in late April, with revenue rising 13% to $70.1 billion and intelligent cloud revenue growing 17%. Azure cloud services posted 31% growth, slightly below some elevated expectations, while AI-related bookings continued to accelerate. CEO Satya Nadella highlighted "strong execution" across the business and pointed to "early signs of AI monetization" in enterprise workloads. However, some investors appeared to focus on the slight cooling in overall cloud growth rates and the........

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