U.S.-Saudi Talks Boost Microsoft (MSFT) AI and Cloud Expansion i

Microsoft President Brad Smith criticized U.S. green-card program curbs, stating they could harm the tech sector. Microsoft's stock rebounded to $533.69 after an initial drop. The Labor Department suspended Microsoft, Adobe, and six IT outsourcers from the PERM program, citing hiring practices. Smith disputed the accusations, emphasizing equal pay and hiring practices. Microsoft's R&D spending per employee increased, highlighting the value of each hire.

TD Cowen raised its Microsoft (MSFT) price target to $625 from $540, citing strong Azure performance and growth expectations. The firm expects higher earnings and guidance due to factors like Fairwater's contribution and OpenAI growth. Microsoft's stock has risen 40% since its last earnings report, with a PEG ratio of 0.95. Other analysts also raised their price targets, with Melius setting a target of $665. Microsoft's revenue grew 18% over the last twelve months.

Microsoft announced plans to wind down its Nairobi engineering hub, affecting nearly 400 employees. The company cited proposed changes in its Kenyan engineering department. Microsoft's investment in Kenya totaled $100 million over seven years. The Kenyan government expressed concerns but agreed to a joint action plan for AI and cloud services.

Microsoft (MSFT) announced advancements in its Maia system, with Maia 300 targeting 40% more tokens per megawatt, reducing power use by 28.6% versus top GPUs. Maia 200 is live for inference workloads. Azure reported $101.9B revenue, up 40% YoY. MSFT stock traded at $540.41, down 0.56%.

Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit disrupted a Chinese-language phishing operation, YAM Store, which sent over 1 billion messages to 75,000 organizations. The operation hijacked Microsoft 365 education and nonprofit cloud tenants, selling access to phishing kit developers. Microsoft seized domains and disabled 20,000 accounts, with partners including Health-ISAC and Japan's National Police Agency.

Jefferies raised its 12-month price target for Microsoft (MSFT) to $650 from $575, citing strong demand for Azure and Microsoft 365. Azure revenue grew 43% in the latest quarter, but AI infrastructure spending has pressured cloud margins. The next earnings report on October 28 will be crucial for assessing profit growth.