Latest news with #IaaS
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Veteran analyst issues eye-popping Microsoft stock price target
Veteran analyst issues eye-popping Microsoft stock price target originally appeared on TheStreet. Microsoft's () has been a dark horse this year, as its cloud and AI engines continue to fire. Be it Azure's dominance, Copilot's spread, or its massive data center bets, Microsoft is marching forward with considerable aplomb. 💵💰💰💵 Despite the uncertainty, it has kept pushing the pace, posting strong guidance, winning fresh analyst upgrades, and firmly holding its spot at the top of the tech hierarchy. All things point to more upside for Microsoft stock, and that's exactly why a fresh Wall Street upgrade just dropped jaws, setting a price target that's adding another massive chunk to its already giant market cap. Microsoft's Azure cloud has been doing a lot of heavy lifting, and the numbers prove it. For context, in the third quarter of fiscal 2025, Microsoft's Intelligent Cloud sales hit $26.8 billion, up 21% year-over-year. Strip out forex-related swings, and that growth jumps to 22%. At the core of it all is Microsoft's dependable Azure and its other cloud services, which posted an incredible 35% quarterly growth in constant currency. Nearly 50% of that jump came directly from AI workloads. Add it all up, and Microsoft's total cloud sales have soared to $42.4 billion, marking a 20% robust infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) demand is pushing the company's capacity to the limit in key regions, indicative of Azure's infrastructure muscle. Currently, Azure commands roughly 23% to 25% of the global cloud market share. That's closing in on Amazon Web Services' 29%, while Google Cloud trails behind at around 12%. Microsoft's commercial bookings are also through the roof, up 67% year-over-year to roughly $300 billion in locked-in contracts offering some serious revenue visibility. Management's outlook is just as strong. For Q4, it's targeting Intelligent Cloud sales of $28.75 billion to $29.05 billion, with Azure growth pinned at roughly 34% to 35%. Demand hasn't shown signs of much easing, even as supply constraints bite. More Tech Stock News: TikTok's next move has Google and Meta sweating bullets Cathie Wood shells out $13.9 million for one high-stakes biotech stock Apple's quiet shake-up could redefine its future Profitability is surging, too. Last quarter's earnings per share came in at $3.46, blowing past Wall Street's expectations and reflecting healthier margins from Azure's scale. Needless to say, it has been nothing but success since CEO Satya Nadella's pivot to the cloud in 2014, with Microsoft pouring $80 billion into data-center buildout. Also, its tight partnership with OpenAI and its investments in Copilot AI are starting to pay off. Piper Sandler just bet big on Microsoft's cloud momentum, and its fresh $600 price target is a testament to that. The research firm bumped its target from $475 to $600 on July 10, a massive jump from Microsoft stock's current price of around $504.80, flirting with the $4 trillion club. Piper Sandler touts Microsoft's growing grip on the cloud, especially in IaaS, pointing to new survey data that shows Azure spending intentions hitting record highs. For the first time, over 80% of chief information officers told Piper they are looking to raise spending on Azure. That cements Microsoft as the leading cloud and AI infrastructure pick for major not a fluke, either. Net spending intentions for Azure have risen, considering in Piper's last four surveys, from 60% to 66%, then 77%, and now 81%. That's a superb climb that shows enterprise commitment is sticking, as its rivals fight for market share. Moreover, the firm is baking in stronger operating cash flow margins, up to 51.8% from 47%, applying a 26-times multiple on 2030 estimates, then discounting back three years. Backing up the bullish call, BMO Capital also lifted its price target on Microsoft, though not quite as aggressively. BMO sees Microsoft stock surging to $550, up from $485, due to steady Azure usage and upbeat feedback from cloud experts. Still, we're seeing stable consumption and aggressive pricing from VMware, which helps with cloud migrations. BMO is holding its Azure growth forecasts steady for now, which doesn't hurt Microsoft's analyst issues eye-popping Microsoft stock price target first appeared on TheStreet on Jul 11, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jul 11, 2025, where it first appeared. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Veteran analyst issues eye-popping Microsoft stock price target
Veteran analyst issues eye-popping Microsoft stock price target originally appeared on TheStreet. Microsoft's () has been a dark horse this year, as its cloud and AI engines continue to fire. Be it Azure's dominance, Copilot's spread, or its massive data center bets, Microsoft is marching forward with considerable aplomb. 💵💰💰💵 Despite the uncertainty, it has kept pushing the pace, posting strong guidance, winning fresh analyst upgrades, and firmly holding its spot at the top of the tech hierarchy. All things point to more upside for Microsoft stock, and that's exactly why a fresh Wall Street upgrade just dropped jaws, setting a price target that's adding another massive chunk to its already giant market cap. Microsoft's Azure cloud has been doing a lot of heavy lifting, and the numbers prove it. For context, in the third quarter of fiscal 2025, Microsoft's Intelligent Cloud sales hit $26.8 billion, up 21% year-over-year. Strip out forex-related swings, and that growth jumps to 22%. At the core of it all is Microsoft's dependable Azure and its other cloud services, which posted an incredible 35% quarterly growth in constant currency. Nearly 50% of that jump came directly from AI workloads. Add it all up, and Microsoft's total cloud sales have soared to $42.4 billion, marking a 20% robust infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) demand is pushing the company's capacity to the limit in key regions, indicative of Azure's infrastructure muscle. Currently, Azure commands roughly 23% to 25% of the global cloud market share. That's closing in on Amazon Web Services' 29%, while Google Cloud trails behind at around 12%. Microsoft's commercial bookings are also through the roof, up 67% year-over-year to roughly $300 billion in locked-in contracts offering some serious revenue visibility. Management's outlook is just as strong. For Q4, it's targeting Intelligent Cloud sales of $28.75 billion to $29.05 billion, with Azure growth pinned at roughly 34% to 35%. Demand hasn't shown signs of much easing, even as supply constraints bite. More Tech Stock News: TikTok's next move has Google and Meta sweating bullets Cathie Wood shells out $13.9 million for one high-stakes biotech stock Apple's quiet shake-up could redefine its future Profitability is surging, too. Last quarter's earnings per share came in at $3.46, blowing past Wall Street's expectations and reflecting healthier margins from Azure's scale. Needless to say, it has been nothing but success since CEO Satya Nadella's pivot to the cloud in 2014, with Microsoft pouring $80 billion into data-center buildout. Also, its tight partnership with OpenAI and its investments in Copilot AI are starting to pay off. Piper Sandler just bet big on Microsoft's cloud momentum, and its fresh $600 price target is a testament to that. The research firm bumped its target from $475 to $600 on July 10, a massive jump from Microsoft stock's current price of around $504.80, flirting with the $4 trillion club. Piper Sandler touts Microsoft's growing grip on the cloud, especially in IaaS, pointing to new survey data that shows Azure spending intentions hitting record highs. For the first time, over 80% of chief information officers told Piper they are looking to raise spending on Azure. That cements Microsoft as the leading cloud and AI infrastructure pick for major not a fluke, either. Net spending intentions for Azure have risen, considering in Piper's last four surveys, from 60% to 66%, then 77%, and now 81%. That's a superb climb that shows enterprise commitment is sticking, as its rivals fight for market share. Moreover, the firm is baking in stronger operating cash flow margins, up to 51.8% from 47%, applying a 26-times multiple on 2030 estimates, then discounting back three years. Backing up the bullish call, BMO Capital also lifted its price target on Microsoft, though not quite as aggressively. BMO sees Microsoft stock surging to $550, up from $485, due to steady Azure usage and upbeat feedback from cloud experts. Still, we're seeing stable consumption and aggressive pricing from VMware, which helps with cloud migrations. BMO is holding its Azure growth forecasts steady for now, which doesn't hurt Microsoft's analyst issues eye-popping Microsoft stock price target first appeared on TheStreet on Jul 11, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jul 11, 2025, where it first appeared. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Oracle's Cloud Breakthrough Spurs Price Target Hike
Jefferies boosting Oracle's (NYSE:ORCL) price target to $270 while keeping their Buy ratingthanks to a string of mega deals that are supercharging its cloud business. Word is there's a jaw-dropping $30 billion-a-year contract kicking in by FY 2028enough to cover about two-thirds of Oracle's IaaS revenue estimate and a third of total sales. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 9 Warning Signs with ORCL. Couple that with over 100% growth in its backlog (aka RPO), and it's clear why analysts feel more top of that, Oracle is leasing 4.5 GW of data-center power to OpenAI, cementing its spot in the AI infrastructure race. All told, these high-visibility deals make hitting that $104 billion 2029 revenue goal look a lot less riskyand set the stage for possible upward tweaks at next month's CloudWorld event. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Oracle's Cloud Breakthrough Spurs Price Target Hike
Jefferies boosting Oracle's (NYSE:ORCL) price target to $270 while keeping their Buy ratingthanks to a string of mega deals that are supercharging its cloud business. Word is there's a jaw-dropping $30 billion-a-year contract kicking in by FY 2028enough to cover about two-thirds of Oracle's IaaS revenue estimate and a third of total sales. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 9 Warning Signs with ORCL. Couple that with over 100% growth in its backlog (aka RPO), and it's clear why analysts feel more top of that, Oracle is leasing 4.5 GW of data-center power to OpenAI, cementing its spot in the AI infrastructure race. All told, these high-visibility deals make hitting that $104 billion 2029 revenue goal look a lot less riskyand set the stage for possible upward tweaks at next month's CloudWorld event. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jefferies Hikes Oracle Target to $220, Cites AI-Driven Cloud Acceleration
Jefferies raised its price target on Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from $200 to $220 on June 12, maintaining a Buy rating as the company continues to ride strong momentum in cloud infrastructure and AI services. Jefferies' analyst's research note pointed to a sharp acceleration in Oracle's cloud growth expected in fiscal 2026. Total cloud revenue is projected to rise 40%, up from 24% in FY25, while IaaS revenue is forecast to jump 70%, compared to 51% the year prior. The analyst sees this as evidence of a widening supply-demand imbalance in cloud capacity, an environment Oracle is increasingly equipped to benefit from. Pixabay/Public Domain Financially, the company remains solid: $57.4 billion in revenue over the last twelve months and a gross margin of 71%. However, Q4 results were mixed; SaaS beat expectations, but IaaS fell short. Jefferies downplayed the miss, noting that broader fundamentals and long-term positioning remain intact. What's driving the firm's optimism is Oracle's backlog growth (RPO), which it believes could convert into revenue and support upside even at 32x 2026 EPS. Oracle's expanding role in the AI infrastructure race, backed by customer demand for scalable, non-Nvidia alternatives, remains central to the bull case. Jefferies' call paints a picture of Oracle not just participating in the AI buildout, but quietly becoming one of its backbone providers. Last month we shared the details of in another article. While we acknowledge the potential of ORCL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: The Best and Worst Dow Stocks for the Next 12 Months and 10 Unstoppable Stocks That Could Double Your Money. Disclosure: None. Sign in to access your portfolio
