New York, Feb 10, 2026, 4:16 PM ET — After-hours
- MSFT ended the day mostly flat following a choppy session, as investors remained focused on AI-driven expenditures.
- Microsoft highlighted a fresh effort to tackle a major hurdle: delivering sufficient power to rapidly expanding data centers.
- Macro data and Wednesday’s U.S. jobs report loom in the background for rate-sensitive megacaps.
Microsoft Corp shares closed Tuesday just under 0.1% lower, settling at $413.32 after fluctuating between $423.63 and $412.70. The software giant revealed a fresh concept for its data-center expansion: superconducting power lines.
Microsoft is experimenting with high-temperature superconductor cables that deliver the same electricity as traditional lines but occupy less space—a possible fix as grid limitations stall new data center projects. Husam Alissa, heading a systems technology team in Microsoft’s data-center division, noted, “The technology helps us scale power density without expanding our physical footprint.” The company hasn’t announced when these cables might be deployed. Reuters
The timing is crucial as software stocks have been volatile amid worries that new AI tools might disrupt the industry, even while major players pour in heavy investments to stay competitive. JPMorgan strategists, led by Dubravko Lakos‑Bujas, noted that “the market is pricing in worst-case AI disruption scenarios that are unlikely to materialize over the next three to six months.” They highlighted Microsoft among a group of “higher quality” stocks they see as more resilient, including ServiceNow and CrowdStrike. Reuters
Retail investors are heading the opposite way, snapping up the dip. BlackRock’s iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF saw net inflows hit a record $176 million over the past month as of Monday’s close, according to Vanda Research data cited by Reuters.
Investors digested surprisingly flat U.S. retail sales figures while also eyeing the massive AI buildout costs ahead. Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft are expected to pour hundreds of billions into these efforts by 2026, Reuters reported. Mark Luschini of Janney described the market’s take as “bad news is good news,” though he noted that traders remain cautious ahead of the upcoming jobs report. Reuters
Microsoft’s latest quarterly report revealed some telling figures: CFO Amy Hood noted capital spending hit $37.5 billion, with about two thirds of that tied to short-lived assets like GPUs and CPUs. She added that revenue from Azure and other cloud services climbed 39%, while demand still outpaces supply.
The power-line test isn’t a simple solution. Superconductor cables come with decades of development behind them and hefty price tags. Even if they scale successfully, investors face the tough call: is AI-driven spending growing quickly enough to justify the hype, or will fresh competition or a shift in the AI story reset the bar yet again?
Wednesday brings the U.S. Employment Situation report for January, due out at 8:30 a.m. ET. This release often shakes up rate expectations and can swing valuations on megacap tech stocks.
