New York, Feb 19, 2026, 16:54 EST — After-hours
Microsoft (MSFT.O) slipped $1.26, losing roughly 0.3% to settle at $398.46 in Thursday’s after-hours action. Shares moved between $396.70 and $404.41 during the session.
Shares went ex-dividend Thursday, marking the cutoff for the 91-cent quarterly payout. Microsoft listed March 12 as the payment date for those holding shares as of Feb. 19. 1
Investors remain unforgiving on big tech’s spending, sending shares lower, as the broader market also faded late. SPY, which tracks the S&P 500, slipped 0.3%. QQQ, the Nasdaq 100 ETF, dropped about 0.4%.
Microsoft on Wednesday said it expects to pour $50 billion into boosting artificial intelligence in developing and emerging markets, what it calls the “Global South,” by decade’s end. The statement came during an AI summit in New Delhi. Reuters noted the tech giant had already pointed to $17.5 billion in AI investments in India last year. 2
Microsoft and CrowdStrike have deepened their partnership, allowing customers to purchase CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform straight from the Microsoft Marketplace and apply it toward their existing Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment — that’s the cloud spending agreement some customers make to secure better pricing. “Security is the foundation for AI Transformation,” said Judson Althoff, CEO of Microsoft’s commercial business, in the companies’ joint announcement. Canalys chief analyst Jay McBain called cloud marketplaces a “primary route to market” for enterprise software. 3
Microsoft director John W. Stanton picked up 5,000 shares on Feb. 18, paying $397.35 each, according to a regulatory filing. The move bumps his direct stake to 83,905 shares. Directors and executives report these kinds of transactions on Form 4s. 4
CrowdStrike shares climbed $6.38, up roughly 1.5%, in late trading.
Even so, Microsoft’s latest spending splash is hitting just as the market’s nerves are fraying over AI-driven capital expenditures and the pressure those put on free cash flow. Back in late January, Reuters pointed out that investors got rattled when Microsoft revealed record AI spending for the previous quarter—cloud growth also cooled off. 5
The bigger headache for bulls? The AI expansion isn’t getting any cheaper, and revenue may not arrive fast enough—particularly if cloud supply bottlenecks stick around or rivals step up the pressure. Earlier this month, Stifel’s Brad Reback downgraded Microsoft to “hold,” saying forecasts for both fiscal and calendar 2027 seemed too rosy in light of Azure supply snags and climbing capital outlays. 6
Nvidia’s earnings on Feb. 25 are coming up, and traders are zeroed in. They want to see what those numbers say about AI infrastructure spending—and just how fast data-center expansion is moving for the chipmaker’s heavyweight clients, the cloud majors. 7
