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Here’s what to look for in today’s Microsoft earnings report

All eyes will be on Microsoft’s Azure cloud revenue growth, and just how much it’s increasing its capital expenditure.

1/28/26 12:12PM

Today after market close, Microsoft will report its second-quarter earnings. Demand for the company’s Azure AI cloud computing is white-hot, and the company can’t keep up. All eyes will be watching Azure’s revenue growth, which analysts expect to be around 38.4%.

Let’s take a look at some of the other areas worth watching.

Signs of slackening demand for AI?

With gargantuan data centers popping up all over and seemingly insatiable demand for more AI infrastructure, fears of an AI bubble persist. Last month, reports emerged that Microsoft had lowered internal AI growth targets due to weak customer demand. We’ll be looking to hear what CEO Satya Nadella has to say about this.

Cozying up to Anthropic

Over the past quarter, Microsoft has been drawing closer to its partner Anthropic. Yes, Microsoft has a huge $13 billion deal with OpenAI, but recently it has been using Anthropic’s AI tools more in its own products, and Nadella has been encouraging more employees to use AI in their work.

It was recently reported that Microsoft was on track to spend $500 million per year on Anthropic AI services. Microsoft also recently invested another $5 billion in Anthropic, along with Nvidia.

But Microsoft is also reportedly spooked about how well Anthropic’s Claude Cowork tool is able to work with Microsoft’s own apps, eclipsing the performance of its own Copilot 365 tool.

Data centers and capex

Microsoft’s data center build-out got some attention from President Trump, as the company pledged to pay its own way for the electricity it uses and to be a good neighbor. But according to internal documents, The New York Times reports that water usage at the company’s data center has doubled.

Last quarter, Microsoft revised its capex outlook and said it will be spending more in FY 2026 to help catch up on its massive $392 billion backlog of booked computing. Microsoft also recently announced huge investments in AI infrastructure in Canada ($13.7 billion) and India ($17 billion).

Look as well for more info about Microsoft’s custom chips. This week, the company announced that its new second-generation Maia 200 AI chip delivers “30% higher performance than alternatives for the same price.”

Microsoft sits at the center of the sprawling tech world, and has unique visibility on how AI uptake is going in both the consumer and enterprise world. It also sees what AI computing demand looks like on the back end through its popular Azure cloud computing platform serving customers large and small. This quarter’s earnings release should offer some valuable signals about where we are in the AI boom.

Claire Yubin Oh1h

Ship-tracking app surges as Iran war continues

As Middle East peace talks stretch on, with Tehran reportedly offering to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the US lifts its blockade and the war ends, the owner of shipping intelligence platform MarineTraffic revealed that the app has gained millions of new users since the conflict began.

MarineTraffic’s user count jumped to 8.5 million this April, up from 3.5 million a year ago, the cofounder of its parent company, Kpler, said in an interview with the Financial Times. Paid subscribers, often workers within companies and governments looking for more data on supply chains and commodities trading, rose 11,000 in the same period.

Kpler, which also owns shipping intelligence platform FleetMon, draws its data from a range of sources, including the Automatic Identification System, satellites, and more than 500 people on-site, like port terminal operators.

Per Appfigures data, MarineTraffic is estimated to have raked in almost $1 million across March and April in app revenue (through April 27), more than double the ~$346,500 from the same months last year. Across the full year, Kpler expects to earn between $300 million and $400 million in annual recurring revenues.

Rani Molla

pedal to the meta

Meta could be getting ready to post its highest revenue growth since 2021

Meta’s outlook and analyst estimates suggest more than 30% revenue growth in Q1.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg visits U.S. Capitol for Senate meetings

Tom Jones7h

Google will supply AI models to Pentagon in classified deal, per The Information

Google has become the latest tech company to ink an agreement to supply the Department of Defense (War) with AI, having reportedly closed a classified deal that allows the Pentagon to use its AI for “any lawful government purpose,” according to The Information.

The Information initially reported talks between the Alphabet-owned company and the US government around two weeks ago, following the messy breakdown of the relationship between Anthropic and the Trump administration — and the rushed OpenAI deal that took its place.

The move has reportedly sparked opposition among Google employees, with The Washington Post reporting that over 600 workers signed a letter to CEO Sundar Pichai to ask him to bar the Defense Department from using the company’s AI models for any classified work.