Microsoft shares fell 23% in the first quarter, marking their steepest decline since the 2008 financial crisis, amid concerns over AI returns and weak adoption of Copilot. Analyst Ben Reitzes said “Redmond is in a pickle,” citing pressure on cloud capacity. Despite strong Azure growth, valuation has dropped to 2022 lows. Gil Luria said “the dislocation in the fundamental performance of Microsoft and the stock performance… is the biggest it’s been in decades.”

2026-04-01

Microsoft shares fell 23% in the first quarter, marking their steepest decline since the 2008 financial crisis, amid concerns over AI returns and weak adoption of Copilot. Analyst Ben Reitzes said “Redmond is in a pickle,” citing pressure on cloud capacity. Despite strong Azure growth, valuation has dropped to 2022 lows. Gil Luria said “the dislocation in the fundamental performance of Microsoft and the stock performance… is the biggest it’s been in decades.”