Microsoft Finally Reveals Azure's $29.4 Billion Core

The US Justice Department supported OpenAI and Microsoft in their copyright dispute with The New York Times, arguing that AI training on copyrighted works is fair use. The DOJ filed a statement in federal court, citing concerns about scientific advancement and national security. The Times accused the administration of favoring AI companies over creators. The case could impact AI development costs, competition, and licensing markets.

U.S. stocks rallied after Fed Governor Christopher Waller suggested a potential September rate hold. Bitcoin surged 4.6% to $80,900. Tesla, Meta, and Microsoft led gains, while Broadcom and Tyson Foods declined. Snowflake rose 21.9% on strong earnings and raised guidance. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each gained over 0.9%.

Nvidia announced a $12.9 billion acquisition of Hugging Face, an open-source AI platform, to expand its ecosystem and drive AI innovation. The deal gives Nvidia access to 18 million AI developers and follows a similar strategy by Microsoft in acquiring GitHub. Nvidia aims to integrate its technology into Hugging Face, incentivizing the use of its paid products and defending against competitors. The acquisition is not expected to immediately impact financials but aligns with Nvidia's long-term st

Microsoft and Chevron signed a 20-year power purchase agreement for a West Texas data center, with Chevron's Energy Forge One LLC developing a 2.67-gigawatt power facility. Microsoft's Pecos, Texas campus, a multibillion-dollar project, will add 2 gigawatts of global data center capacity over five to seven years. Economists discuss potential AI antitrust risks related to infrastructure control, including input foreclosure and raising rivals' costs.

Microsoft shares rose 3.23% after announcing it will disclose standalone Azure revenue for the first time this fall. The company is restructuring its financial reporting into two segments: Agents and Infra, and Devices and Consumer. Azure generated $29.42 billion in the quarter ending June, up 42% year-over-year, and $100 billion for the full 2026 fiscal year. Analysts expect the change to provide clearer insights into Azure's performance and Microsoft's AI-driven growth.

Microsoft (MSFT) will now disclose standalone Azure revenue, revealing its closer proximity to Google Cloud (GOOGL) than AWS (AMZN). AWS reported $42.23B in Q4 revenue with 36.7% YoY growth, while Google Cloud posted $24.77B with 82% growth. OpenAI's AWS commitment and Anthropic's chip deal challenge Azure's AI workload dominance. Microsoft's enterprise distribution remains a key advantage, with 30M paid seats for Microsoft 365 Copilot and 90% of Fortune 500 using its AI tools.