Microsoft's Azure, M365 Growth Expectations Rise Ahead of Earnings, UBS Says

12:51 PM EDT, 10/15/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Microsoft's (MSFT) Azure cloud and Microsoft 365 businesses are positioned to meet rising investor expectations ahead of the company's upcoming earnings report, with enterprise demand and AI adoption supporting growth, UBS Securities said in a note. The investment firm said in a Wednesday note that it expects Azure to grow 46% in the September quarter, slightly below the 47% growth investors are looking for. However, continued enterprise demand and expanding AI capacity could support further growth in the following quarter. UBS said investor expectations for Azure and Microsoft 365 have increased following the stock's rally, but fundamentals support the higher outlook. It cited solid enterprise demand, AI infrastructure expansion, usage-based pricing for Copilot and increased adoption of Microsoft's AI security suite as potential growth drivers. UBS also said the stock's valuation remains reasonable given the potential for AI monetization, despite higher growth expectations. UBS maintained a buy rating and raised its price target to $675 from $525. Price: 539.58, Change: +5.89, Percent Change: +1.10