Microsoft (MSFT.US) shares continued their downward trend on Friday, opening more than 2% lower. This marks the ninth consecutive day of declines, with the stock having retreated over 32% from its recent peak. The company is on track to record its worst quarterly performance since 2008.
Artificial intelligence is negatively impacting the company's growth outlook from two angles. First, the global software giant, with a market capitalization nearing $3 trillion, is significantly increasing its capital expenditures on AI. However, more Wall Street institutions are questioning when these substantial investments in AI computing infrastructure will translate into more significant returns in revenue and profit growth.
Second, a pessimistic narrative that "AI will disrupt everything" is prompting global investors to continue selling software stocks. Concerns are growing that AI startups like Anthropic and OpenAI are developing AI agents capable of fully replacing SaaS software products from companies like Microsoft by creating highly efficient, agent-focused workflows.
Jonathan Cofsky, a portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors, noted, "There is a genuine concern in the market that customers might bypass Microsoft in the future and turn directly to large AI model providers. This could hurt Microsoft's core growth business, or at least put pressure on the company's pricing power and profit margins."
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