Microsoft has officially joined the $4 trillion valuation club, becoming the second company in history to reach the milestone. Its shares surged nearly 4.5% on Thursday following a strong quarterly earnings report the night before, pushing its intraday market cap to $4.01 trillion. The tech giant’s stock has climbed about 28% since the beginning of the year.
The milestone comes just 18 months after Microsoft hit a $3 trillion valuation, and just over five years since crossing the $1 trillion mark in April 2019. Microsoft now follows chipmaker Nvidia, which became the first company to reach a $4 trillion market cap earlier in July. Apple, another major tech rival, currently holds a valuation of $3.12 trillion.
Microsoft hit a $4 trillion valuation Thursday.
Microsoft’s rally was fueled by strong performance in its Azure cloud computing segment and robust growth in its enterprise software business, driven in part by demand for its Copilot AI tools embedded in Microsoft 365. The company also announced a record $30 billion in capital expenditures for the current fiscal first quarter, highlighting its aggressive investment in AI.
Unlike Nvidia’s rapid rise—tripling its valuation in about a year—Microsoft’s climb to the $4 trillion mark has been more gradual. However, its strategic AI push, particularly its multibillion-dollar partnership with OpenAI, has been transformative. By integrating OpenAI’s models into Azure and the Microsoft Office Suite, the company has strengthened its competitive edge against Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud.
Investor confidence has soared as Microsoft posted record revenues quarter after quarter since September 2022. Its stock has also rebounded sharply—rising nearly 50% from its April 2025 low when markets were shaken by former President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
Despite global economic uncertainties, including new US tariffs, Microsoft’s financials remain strong. The company has continued to streamline operations, most recently announcing layoffs of around 9,000 employees in July—roughly 4% of its workforce—following a 6,000-worker reduction in May. A spokesperson attributed the cuts in part to productivity gains from new technologies, including AI.
CEO Satya Nadella has stated that AI is now responsible for generating up to 30% of Microsoft’s code, underlining the company’s commitment to embedding AI across all facets of its business. With billions flowing into AI infrastructure and increasing reliance on automation, Microsoft is reinforcing its position at the forefront of the tech industry’s next major evolution.
