Nasdaq Posts Best Day Since June on Microsoft Azure Revenue Surge

Microsoft's Azure cloud platform posted 43% revenue growth in the latest quarter, driving the stock up 16.4% Thursday and powering the Nasdaq Composite to a 2.6% gain—its strongest session since mid-June. The software giant reported $90 billion in total quarterly revenue, validating that enterprise AI spending is translating into measurable top-line results.

The rally isolated winners and losers in the AI buildout. Meta Platforms fell 9.2% after missing earnings expectations and posting a 91% collapse in free cash flow, underscoring diverging returns on AI capital expenditures. Semiconductor stocks climbed alongside Microsoft, benefiting from confirmation that cloud infrastructure demand remains robust.

Thursday's session marked a sharp rebound for U.S. equities, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading gains as investors digested evidence that hyperscale cloud providers are monetizing AI workloads at scale.