NEW YORK, Feb 14, 2026, 10:08 EST — Market closed.
- Microsoft stock faces fresh regulatory headlines going into the next U.S. session.
- Investors are also watching whether AI spending starts to show up in margins and cloud growth.
- The next U.S. cash-market session opens Tuesday after a holiday Monday shutdown.
Microsoft Corp shares ended Friday down 0.1% at $401.32, a muted close before a long U.S. holiday break. Bloomberg News reported the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has stepped up scrutiny of Microsoft’s cloud, AI and software licensing practices. The FTC has sent civil investigative demands — a type of subpoena — to at least half a dozen rivals, the report said. (Reuters)
The probe matters because much of Microsoft’s business model leans on packaging. It sells Azure cloud services, security products and AI tools in bundles, often alongside Office and Windows, and pricing power is part of the bull case for MSFT.
It also lands in the middle of a rougher conversation around returns on AI spending. On its late-January earnings call, Chief Executive Satya Nadella said AI was still in the “early innings,” as Microsoft defended a sharp step-up in investment. “revenues are up 17% and the cost of revenues are up 19%,” Eric Clark, portfolio manager of the LOGO ETF, said in that Reuters report. (Reuters)
Microsoft on Friday also leaned into a different theme: trust and cross-border data rules. It and Ericsson led a group of 15 companies that launched the “Trusted Tech Alliance,” pitched as a set of principles for using technology safely regardless of where it is developed. “many governments and countries are feeling pressure to create stronger technology borders,” Microsoft President Brad Smith told Reuters. (Reuters)
The calendar adds a wrinkle. U.S. stock markets are closed Monday for Washington’s Birthday, according to the NYSE holiday schedule, pushing the next session to Tuesday. (New York Stock Exchange)
Rates sit in the background, as usual for big tech. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to publish minutes from its Jan. 27-28 policy meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. ET. (Federal Reserve)
Microsoft and the FTC have not commented publicly on the Bloomberg report, and traders will watch for any on-the-record response. Any hint of a change to cloud licensing terms or how Microsoft bundles products would likely get read straight into longer-term margin assumptions.
But the downside case is messy. Antitrust reviews can drag on, and a probe can widen even without a clear end point; at the same time, Microsoft still has to keep cloud growth steady while funding a big build-out in AI infrastructure.
Investors will also track what Microsoft signals in public forums. Microsoft’s investor site lists Nadella for the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on March 4. (Microsoft)
Next week’s bigger swing, though, is still the AI spend trade. MarketWatch, citing Bloomberg data, said the “Magnificent Seven” spent nearly $650 billion on capital spending last year, about 30% more than a year earlier, and flagged Microsoft as approaching a bear market — Wall Street shorthand for a 20% drop from a peak. Nvidia’s results on Feb. 25 are one of the next focal points for that spending debate. (Marketwatch)
