Microsoft market cap soars $450 billion in a day, a world record, as Azure revenue climbs 43%

Microsoft shares closed 15.5% higher on Thursday, adding about $450 billion in market value, the largest single-day market-cap gain in global stock-market history. The percentage gain was the biggest since October 2008 and eclipsed the previous record of a $440 billion single-day increase set by Nvidia in 2025.

The rally came after Microsoft reported fiscal fourth-quarter results showing Azure cloud revenue rose 43% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, the fastest growth since early 2022.

The one-day market-cap increase exceeded the total market capitalization of about 96% of S&P 500 companies, and was larger than the combined value of the 41 smallest members of the index—including Domino's Pizza, Clorox, and Hasbro. It also surpassed the total stock-market capitalization of countries such as South Africa, Turkey, Finland, and Vietnam.