New York, Feb 19, 2026, 16:54 EST — After-hours
Microsoft (MSFT.O) shares were down $1.26, or about 0.3%, at $398.46 in after-hours trading on Thursday, after swinging between $396.70 and $404.41 during the session.
The stock traded ex-dividend on Thursday for a 91-cent quarterly payout. That’s the date after which new buyers are no longer entitled to the dividend, which Microsoft said is payable on March 12 to shareholders of record on Feb. 19. (Source)
The move comes with investors still quick to punish big tech over spending plans, while the broader market drifted lower into the close. The S&P 500 tracker SPY fell about 0.3% and the Nasdaq 100 tracker QQQ lost roughly 0.4%.
On the company side, Microsoft said on Wednesday it is on pace to invest $50 billion by the end of the decade to expand artificial intelligence in developing and emerging markets, the so‑called “Global South.” The company made the comments at an AI summit in New Delhi, and Reuters reported Microsoft had flagged $17.5 billion of AI investments in India last year. (Reuters)
Microsoft and CrowdStrike said they expanded their strategic alliance to let customers buy CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform through Microsoft Marketplace using an existing Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment — a pre-agreed cloud spend some customers commit to in return for pricing benefits. “Security is the foundation for AI Transformation,” Judson Althoff, CEO of Microsoft’s commercial business, said in a joint statement, while Canalys chief analyst Jay McBain pointed to cloud marketplaces becoming a “primary route to market” for enterprise software. (Source)
A regulatory filing showed Microsoft director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares in the open market on Feb. 18 at $397.35 per share, lifting his direct holdings to 83,905 shares. Form 4s disclose insider trades such as purchases and sales by directors and executives. (SEC)
CrowdStrike shares were up $6.38, or about 1.5%, in late trading.
Still, Microsoft’s spending headlines land in a market that has turned jumpy about AI-related capital outlays and what they do to free cash flow. Reuters reported in late January that investors were spooked after Microsoft said it had spent a record amount on AI in the prior quarter and posted slower cloud-computing growth. (Reuters)
But the bigger risk for bulls is that the AI build-out keeps getting more expensive before revenue catches up — especially if cloud capacity constraints linger and competition heats up. Stifel analyst Brad Reback cut Microsoft to “hold” earlier this month, arguing expectations for fiscal and calendar 2027 looked too optimistic given Azure supply issues and rising investment. (Yahoo Finance)
Next up, traders will watch Nvidia’s results on Feb. 25 for clues on AI infrastructure demand and the pace of data-center build-outs across its biggest customers, including the cloud giants. (Nvidia)
