Product News
“Trading idea”: Cloud and AI – A Winning Duo
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Serge Nussbaumer
Chefredaktor
The US software giant was once again able to impress with its interim report. The outlook for the future is also rosy, meaning that the latest fireworks on the stock market are far from over.
Mini-Future Long on Microsoft
No more “all good things come in threes” – Microsoft has exceeded analysts’ expectations for the fifth time in a row with its latest business figures. And not just in terms of profit, but also in terms of the important cloud growth and outlook. The software giant thus put the stock market audience in high spirits. The shares of the technology heavyweight shot up by more than 7%.
Microsoft received a tailwind above all from the rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI). According to Visible Alpha, revenue in the Azure cloud division rose by a third in the third quarter to the end of March, exceeding estimates of 29.7%. AI contributed an impressive 16 percentage points to this increase, up from 13 percentage points in the previous quarter. “Cloud and AI are crucial for every company to increase production, reduce costs and accelerate growth,” commented CEO Satya Nadella on the development. This has allayed the fears of many market participants that demand for AI could weaken after Microsoft recently terminated some data center leases, according to research reports.
On a Group basis, Microsoft increased sales by 13% to USD 70.1 billion. The Intelligent Cloud segment, which includes Azure, contributed 38% to revenue. For the current fourth quarter of the 2024/25 financial year (June 30), the Redmond, Washington-based company is forecasting revenue growth in the cloud computing segment of 34% to 35% to USD 28.75 billion to USD 29.05 billion, which is well above analysts’ estimates. The profit curve is also pointing steeply upwards. From January to March, Microsoft earned USD 3.46 per share, not only exceeding the previous year’s figure by more than a fifth, but also clearly exceeding expectations of USD 3.22 per share.
“Cloud and AI are essential to accelerate growth.”
The Group is investing heavily in the expansion of its AI infrastructure and data center capacities in order to maintain its rapid pace of growth. In the third quarter, investments rose by 53% to USD 21.4 billion. However, CFO Amy Hood explained in a conference call that expenditure will continue to rise in the 2026 financial year, but at a lower rate than in the current year. Investments will primarily be made in chips.
In view of the strong operating momentum and the technical breakout – the share broke above both the 100-day and 200-day moving averages in one fell swoop – an investment in Microsoft shares could also make sense. With a Mini-Future from BNP Paribas (ISIN CH1442937798), high returns can be achieved with a low capital investment. The open-end security has a leverage of 4.7 and a stop loss of USD 360.60, which is 17.1% away from the knock-out threshold. The next price target is USD 455, before the all-time high of USD 468.35 comes into focus. The analysts’ consensus currently even sees room up to the USD 500 mark.
Product information*
| ISIN | CH1442937798 |
| Product type | Mini-Future Long |
| Underlying | Microsoft |
| Issuer | BNP Paribas |
| Rating | A+ (S&P) |
| Trading currency | CHF |
| First trading day | 24.04.2025 |
| Maturity | open-end |
| Underlying | USD |
| Leverage* | 4.74 |
| Stop loss* | USD 360.60 |
| Financing level* | USD 343.5024 |
| Ask* | CHF 7.58 |
| Exchange | Swiss DOTS |
| Weblink | payoff.ch/CH1442937798 |
Microsoft share price performance
