Zacks identifies Microsoft as a candidate for another earnings beat, with an average surprise of 8.75% over the last two quarters. For the most recent quarter, it was expected to earn $4.21 per share but reported $4.74, a 12.59% surprise; the prior quarter beat by 4.91% ($4.27 vs. $4.07 consensus). Microsoft's Earnings ESP is currently positive at +0.29% and it carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), a combination Zacks says produces a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time. The next earnings report is expected on October 28, 2026.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Read the original on Yahoo Finance ↗
Keywords
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related tickers and likely impact
MSFT
▲ Likely positiveMicrosoft
Relevance: medium
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology |
| Industry | Systems Software |
| Market cap | $4.0T |
| Close on 10/19/2026 | 533.52 |
| Change that session | +0.84% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
Related news
- Dear Microsoft Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendar for October 28
- Can Gaming Pipeline and Activision Add Momentum to Microsoft Stock?
Microsoft is counting on a busy fall gaming lineup to revive Xbox, with Gears of War: E-Day launched on Oct. 6 for Game Pass subscribers and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 arriving Oct. 23 without Game Pass at launch. Management expects Xbox content and services revenue to fall in the mid-single digits in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, though it still targets a return to growth that year. Fiscal 2026 Xbox revenue dropped 7%, or $1.7 billion, and Xbox makes up about 5.5% of Microsoft's $90 billion fourth-quarter revenue, so the article argues gaming alone is unlikely to be a major stock catalyst. Rivals show uneven trends: Take-Two's first-quarter net bookings fell 3% to $1.39 billion, yet it kept its $8–$8.2 billion guidance tied to the Nov. 19 GTA VI launch, while Roblox's second-quarter bookings rose 8% to $1.6 billion but it expects third-quarter bookings to fall 14–18%.
- Why the Market Dipped But Microsoft (MSFT) Gained Today
Microsoft closed at $541.13 in the latest session, up 1.13%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.06% and the Nasdaq lost 0.44%. Over the past month, the stock gained 7.96%, outperforming the Computer and Technology sector's 4.85% and the S&P 500's 2.36%. Microsoft is scheduled to report earnings on October 28, 2026, with analysts expecting EPS of $4.71, up 14.04% year over year, and revenue of $90.6 billion, up 16.64%. Full-year Zacks Consensus estimates call for EPS of $19.65 and revenue of $390.2 billion, representing increases of 9.47% and 17.59%. Microsoft currently holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold), and its forward P/E of 27.24 is above the industry average of 16.72.
- Sector Update: Tech Stocks Fall Late Afternoon
- Prediction: One of the World’s Biggest Stocks Could Still Have Room to Run
24/7 Wall St. sets a 12-month price target of $431.74 for Alphabet (GOOG), implying 26.86% upside from $340.34, with a buy rating. The case rests on Google Cloud, where growth accelerated to 82% and operating margin rose to 35.6% from 20.7%, backed by a $514 billion backlog. Yet the stock sat at $337.82, 16.4% below its $403.96 52-week high. Risks include 2026 capex guidance of $175–185 billion, Q2 free cash flow of -$5.86 billion, long-term debt rising to $98.2 billion from $46.5 billion, paused buybacks, and a stock sale program of up to $40 billion. The article notes Alphabet trades at a 22x forward multiple, well below Microsoft and Meta.
- Microsoft Stock Could Be Closer to Its Next Big Breakout Than Investors Think
Microsoft trades at $531.47 on October 20, 2026, and 24/7 Wall St. sets a 12-month price target of $649.73, implying 22.3% upside with a buy rating. The rebound followed a strong fiscal fourth quarter in which revenue rose 17.75% to $90.01 billion, EPS of $4.74 beat the $4.24 consensus, Azure grew 43% and commercial RPO jumped 84% to $678 billion. The CFO says customer demand exceeds available capacity, and analyst ratings stand at 14 Strong Buys, 39 Buys and 2 Holds with no Sells. Risks include fiscal 2026 capex rising 79.62% to $115.95 billion, free cash flow falling 6.46%, and RPO excluding OpenAI growing only 25%. The bull case reaches $754.68, while the bear case is $548.92.
Related markets
Latest news
- Bank Profits Surge
The 9-month 2026 results show many banks continued to grow profits, with some posting record quarterly earnings. VPBank's pre-tax profit reached nearly VND 30,000 billion, up nearly 47%, equal to its full-year 2025 result and about 72.4% of its 2026 plan; Q3 pre-tax profit topped VND 11,000 billion. Techcombank posted VND 28,900 billion (up 23.7%), while LPBank reported VND 10,421 billion (up nearly 9%). SSI forecasts pre-tax profit of its monitored banks to rise 19.5% in 2026 before slowing to 15.4% in 2027, pressured by narrowing net interest margins and rising credit risk provisions. It also expects system-wide credit growth of 16-17% in 2027 and 17.9% for the monitored banks.
- World's Largest Gold Fund Dumps Over 10 Tonnes of Gold as Prices Slide
SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold fund, continued net selling of nearly 12 tonnes of gold in the 22/10 session, bringing total sales over 2 sessions to nearly 15 tonnes and cutting its holdings to about 1,046 tonnes. Spot gold fell more than 2.8% to around USD 4,025 per ounce at the close of 22/10, and briefly dipped below USD 4,000 per ounce in the morning session of 23/10. Tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher, raising concerns about inflation and further Fed tightening, and gold has still not attracted sustained safe-haven demand even as US Treasury yields fell. US September CPI rose 0.6% month on month and 3.7% year on year, while PPI rose 1.3% and 6.3%. Markets price about an 84% chance the Fed holds rates steady at its 27-28/10 meeting and a 16% chance of a 25 basis-point increase; September PCE data due on 29/10 is the next key factor to watch.
- Gold Prices Continue to Fall
On the morning of 23/10, domestic gold prices kept falling, with SJC bar prices varying by seller and the premium over world gold widening. Công ty TNHH Vàng bạc đá quý Sài Gòn listed SJC bars at VND 139-142 million per tael (buy-sell), down VND 300,000; Phú Quý was at VND 138-141.8 million, down VND 500,000; and Mi Hồng at VND 140-141.5 million, down VND 800,000. Gold rings also fell by varying amounts, with DOJI at VND 138-142 million and Phú Quý at VND 138-141 million per tael. World gold dropped USD 129 to around USD 3,992 per ounce, equal to about VND 125.3 million per tael, leaving SJC bars about VND 16.7 million per tael above the world price. The State Bank's central rate was set at 25,627 VND/USD, down 5 dong, while Vietcombank quoted 25,660-26,040 VND/USD (buy-sell).
- Company Linked to Billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong Announces Major Good News
VEFAC (ticker VEF), a Vingroup subsidiary, posted Q3 net revenue of nearly VND 77 billion, up 67% year on year, but a gross loss of about VND 27 billion as cost of sales from its exhibition business exceeded revenue. Q3 profit rose mainly thanks to a gross gain of about VND 65 billion from transferring some schools in a project to a partner, while financial income reached over VND 388 billion, mostly from loan and investment income. For the first nine months of 2026, after-tax profit was nearly VND 865 billion, down about 94% from VND 15,418 billion in the same period of 2025, as the prior year included large gains from transferring part of the Vinhomes Global Gate project. As of 30/9/2026, total assets stood at over VND 31,905 billion, up 36% from the start of the year, while total liabilities exceeded VND 24,364 billion, with short-term customer advances rising from VND 411 billion to over VND 8,373 billion.
- Lotte and Phat Dat Officially Break Ground on VND 60,000 Billion Mega Project in Thu Thiem 'Golden Land'
A joint venture between Lotte Group (South Korea) and Phát Đạt (HoSE: PDR) officially broke ground on 23/10 on Lotte Eco Smart City Thu Thiem in the Thu Thiem New Urban Area, HCMC, with total investment of about VND 60,000 billion. The project covers nearly 7.5 ha and will combine Grade A offices, retail, services, accommodation and housing, adjoining the central plaza and central lake of Thu Thiem. Phát Đạt holds 35% of Lotte Properties HCMC, the project developer, and will develop the housing blocks along with two towers (2-1 and 2-3) with about 219,722 m2 of floor area, while Lotte handles block 2-5. Lotte Properties HCMC paid VND 17,569 billion in land-use fees on 31/7/2026, and Phát Đạt completed its VND 7,666 billion payment to take its 35% stake. MB is funding all of Phát Đạt's capital contribution, while VietinBank and BIDV also support the project.
- International Business : Global stocks nosedive as Meta dents AI optimism
Global stocks retreated as tech earnings failed to ease concerns about the AI outlook, with MSCI's All-World index set for its largest daily fall in two weeks, down 0.4 per cent. Meta beat third-quarter revenue expectations, but its plan to issue non-voting stock revived worries about its mounting capital commitments, and a New Mexico judge ordered it to pay a $25 billion penalty in a data privacy case. Brent crude rose nearly 3% to $112 a barrel, near a five-month high, after more Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia raised supply risks. Investors moved into government bonds, pushing the US 10-year yield down to 5.05%, below France's for the first time in 13 years, while French yields have climbed above 5% amid concerns over social unrest and debt. The France-Germany 10-year spread reached 177.7 basis points, its widest since 2011, while gold fell 1.8% to $4,070 an ounce.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.