Why is Microsoft stock climbing today?

Microsoft's stock climbed 1.3% in mid-day trading, reaching $541.79, after the company unveiled its latest custom silicon chip, the Azure Maia 300, at a summit in San Jose. This third-generation chip is designed to provide about 40% more compute per megawatt compared to leading GPU-based alternatives, with Microsoft planning to deploy it at multi-gigawatt scale starting in 2027, potentially surpassing one million units.

This announcement, along with a price target increase to $600 from $550 by Deutsche Bank analyst Brad Zelnick and a constructive outlook on Azure's AI-driven growth, has driven the stock's advance despite a mixed broader market. Microsoft President Brad Smith's advocacy for global AI regulation has also kept the company in the forefront of AI policy discussions.