Microsoft Q2 earnings live — all the latest news as it happens

We are one hour out from today's earnings call

Microsoft's 2026 Q2 earnings call kicks off at 2:30 pm Pacific and should last until 3:30 pm.

We'll be following along with the webcast. If you want to listen in you can go here but we'll also be listening and posting information that will be relevant to customers and not just the money people.

Microsoft Maia

Recently, Microsoft announced the new Maia 200 chip, meant for scaling AI inference.

The new chip is supposed to take on Google and Nvidia when it comes to AI. As TechCrunch reports, the Maia 200 chip is supposed to be more power efficient and use less power compared to competitor chips and the older Maia 100 chip.

I expect we'll hear about this new chip during the earnings call today.

Did you know there's a boycott against Microsoft and Xbox

Despite the Xbox Ally and Game Pass, Xbox has had a seemingly poor recent run.

Plus, the company faces an ongoing boycott over the alleged "complicity in Israel's genocide in Gaza."

Here's more information if you're curious.

Expect reports of major growth

CNBC is reporting that Microsoft is expected to report major growth in several areas including Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure.

It's also expected that expenditures, especially around data center builds and leasing will be up by nearly 50%.

Microsoft's stock fell 10% in the last quarter, so we're certain that will come up.

Copilot vulnerability

Microsoft recently patched a major Copilot vulernability that could have resulted in personal data being stolen.

We expect the company to discuss the AI tool in today's earnings call, most likely in terms of its growth and integration into Windows systems.

Xbox goes ARM on Windows 11

Recently, the Xbox app finally arrived on Arm-based Windows 11 PCs.

“Windows and Xbox continue to collaborate across the gaming community, OEMs, silicon innovators and game studios to expand catalog compatibility and deliver a consistently great Windows gaming experience—whether you’re on a powerful desktop, a purpose‑built handheld, or an Arm‑based Windows 11 laptop," the company said.

But is it enough for Microsoft to hold on to its PC gaming dominance.

Azure and infrastructure

Last week, Microsoft suffered a massive 365 and Outlook outage that lasted nearly 48 hours. Like many of the major outages in the last couple of years, it's all based around infrastructure and the failure.

As my colleague Jason England points out, companies need a backup plan and to bolster their infrastructure.

I'm curious if any investors will ask about the outage.

Not off to the best start

Microsoft has been pushing AI and Copilot as integral to the Windows experience but people have not been responding.

And it doesn't help that the recent January patch to fix things ended up stirring even more bugs in Windows 11.

We doubt they'll mention this on the call.

What do you want to hear form Microsoft?

These earnings calls are mostly for investors and interested financial institutes. But they do sometimes reveal plans about the company's future.

Let us know if there's anything you hope to learn about Microsoft's 2026 plans?

A question of hardware

As we enter a new year, the question will be whether or not Microsoft discusses any future hardware plans for 2026.

We are several months from Microsoft Build (which is also moving to a new city), so it's not clear if hardware will be top of mind for the tech giant.

Now is the time for future prognostication from the company, which I do expect we'll hear today.

Are we in a bubble?

Hood and Nadella were asked if we're in an AI bubble and how Microsoft is ensuring that it can both meet current demand but also that it's sustainable (financially).

"Those are very long-lived assets, as we’ve talked about, 15 to 20 years. And over that period of time, do I have confidence that we’ll need to use all of that? It is very high," Hood said.

"When I look at the entirety of these high value agent systems, and when we look at the efficiency of and fungibility of our fleet, that’s what gives us the confidence to invest both the capital and the R&D talent to go after this opportunity," Nadella added.

Nadella is excited about Agentic AI

During the Q&A portion of the last earnings call, Nadella was asked about agentic AI and he seems quite excited about the future of AGI.

"I feel actually, pretty good about both the progress in AI. I don’t think AGI, as defined, at least, by us in our contract, is ever going to be achieved anytime soon, but I do believe we can drive a lot of value for customers with advances in AI models by building these systems. It’s the real question that needs to be well understood, and I feel very, very confident about our ability to make progress."

Previous earnings call focused on AI

The last Microsoft earnings call was held on October 29, 2025.

There's a lot to go through in the hourlong discussion, but a big chunk of the call is focused on AI and Microsoft Azure, the company's cloud computing service.

Satella also discussed Copilot and a deal with OpenAI.

What’s next for Xbox

Xbox has seemingly fumbled the ball this console generation with Sony currently holding the reins as the PS5 has continued to outsell both the Xbox Series X and Series S.

Given that those consoles are now five years old after launching back in 2020, Microsoft is already working on a follow-up. However, the question remains what the company is planning to do to set its next console apart from the competition.

There’s been talk of integrating PC game stores like Valve’s Steam and the Epic Games Store and the next Xbox may end up being more PC than console which will certainly carry a more premium price. It will also have to compete against Valve’s upcoming Steam Machine too. Hopefully we learn a bit more about the state of Xbox and Microsoft’s gaming plans in today’s call.

All eyes on Microsoft’s stock

Microsoft’s Q2 fiscal earnings today could make or break its current stock price. The software giant’s stock has underperformed compared to the rest of the tech sector over the last six months and is currently down by around 14% at $478 since its all-time high off $555 at the end of last year.

If Microsoft can show its massive investment in AI has paid off in terms of revenue, its stock could jump up.