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BNP Paribas Doubles Down on Microsoft Ahead of Earnings
BNP Paribas reiterated an Outperform rating and a $604 price target on Microsoft ahead of its October 28 earnings, citing faster Azure growth and wider Copilot adoption as possible catalysts. The target implies roughly 15% upside from Microsoft's October 23 closing price of $524.51.
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What happened
BNP Paribas reiterated an Outperform rating and a $604 price target on Microsoft ahead of its October 28 earnings, citing faster Azure growth and wider Copilot adoption as possible catalysts. The target implies roughly 15% upside from Microsoft's October 23 closing price of $524.51.
Confirmed
Global impact / market context
A higher target signals the bank expects Microsoft's artificial intelligence spending to turn into cloud and software sales. Broader Copilot use could lift recurring subscription revenue and encourage businesses to buy more Microsoft products, which supports steadier earnings.
Analyst inference
Microsoft guided for 44% to 45% Azure revenue growth this quarter, making cloud results the key test. BNP's view rests on partner discussions showing wider Copilot rollouts and new consumption-based pricing, which means charges tied to how much customers use.
Analyst inference
What to watch
- Microsoft reports earnings on October 28, when investors will see whether Azure growth lands within its guided 44% to 45% range. Confirmed
- BNP Paribas expects new consumption-based pricing to add about one percentage point to Microsoft 365 Commercial Cloud growth by the fiscal fourth quarter. Proposed
- Watch whether customers move from limited Copilot trials to company-wide deployments, since that shift would support recurring subscription revenue and wider spending across Microsoft's software. Analyst inference
Affected assets
- OP — Optimism