After Microsoft unveiled its financial results, a number of investors found themselves disheartened. On Thursday, the company's stock price took a significant hit, dropping roughly 10%. This plunge wiped out a staggering $357 billion in market value, leaving Microsoft with a valuation of $3.22 trillion. The fallout from this decline rippled through the market, causing the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF to dip by 5%, the Nasdaq Composite Index to edge down by a modest 0.7%, and, in a contrasting move, Meta's stock price to soar by 10%.

Investor discontent with Microsoft's financial report primarily arose from several key factors. The revenue growth rates of Azure cloud services and other cloud-based operations, the earnings from the 'More Personal Computing' business division, and the projected operating profit margin for the upcoming quarter all failed to meet investor expectations. Microsoft's Chief Financial Officer explained that the cloud business could achieve better performance if more resources were dedicated to expanding data center infrastructure.

Analysts from Melius highlighted execution challenges within Azure's cloud business and suggested that accelerating the construction of data centers would be beneficial. UBS analysts, on the other hand, raised questions about Microsoft's strategy for allocating computing power, insisting on concrete evidence to justify the investment's value.

However, the analyst team at Bernstein offered a contrasting view, acknowledging (in the sense of showing approval or endorsement, as translated contextually) Microsoft's strategic decisions. They believe that the company is prioritizing its long-term interests. Moreover, Microsoft's capital expenditures for the current quarter are anticipated to experience a slight decrease.