Topline
Microsoft share price closed at a record $359.49 on Tuesday following the company’s reveal of Microsoft 365 Copilot, an AI-powered version of the productivity platform—the latest tech company to enjoy an artificial intelligence-fueled boost.
Key Facts
Microsoft’s stock closed up nearly 4% Tuesday, reaching the highest value it has ever traded at and pushing the company’s market cap to $2.67 trillion.
The tech conglomerate’s positive stock performance was fueled by an announcement that the AI-powered Microsoft 365 Copilot would be offered for $30 a month for Microsoft 365 customers on different plans.
The Copilot subscription would be added on top of existing Microsoft 365 plans, which already range from $12.50 a month to $36 a month for each user.
The stock, which peaked at $366.30 Tuesday and hit an all-time high on June 15, has risen more than 6% in the last month.
Tangent
Microsoft is one of several tech companies experiencing record-setting stock prices in the wake of AI developments and investments. Nvidia, which produces chips used to power AI systems, also reached an all-time high Tuesday—when it closed up more than 2% at $474.94. The record comes less than two months after the company surged past a $1 trillion market cap, driven partly by optimism that the company’s chips could help fuel AI systems. Last month, software company Oracle recorded an all-time high stock price of $126.55 before later dropping slightly, benefiting from developments in AI that have led the company to invest in Cohere—a generative AI startup valued at more than $2 billion.
What To Watch For
Microsoft has not set a release date for the incoming AI software, which will enter a competitive market inhabited by the likes of Google, Salesforce and other tech juggernauts.
Key Background
Microsoft’s Copilot was announced in March as a Microsoft 365 integration that would help users with productivity and skills on apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement that the AI addition would “fundamentally change the way we work and unlock a new wave of productivity growth.” Since the start of the year, Microsoft’s stock has increased nearly $120 per share, recovering from plummeting prices for it and other major tech companies last year and reaching well past Microsoft’s best stock performances ever—which were recorded in late 2021.
Microsoft –AI Will Help Drive $100 Billion In Revenue By 2027 (Forbes)
Nvidia Hits $1 Trillion Market Value (Forbes)
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