July 21 - Bank of America lifted its price target on Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) to $585 from $515 ahead of the software giant's fiscal fourth‑quarter results, according to a Friday note.
Analysts led by Brad Sills kept a Buy rating and Top Pick designation, citing partner checks that point to deal volumes roughly matching the prior quarter. They see revenue in Q4 edging up by as much as 1% versus their base forecast.
Azure remains the growth engine, with BofA projecting 35.5% constant‑currency expansion, about 18 percentage points driven by AI, up from a prior 34.2 % estimate (17 points from AI).
In Productivity and Business Processes, the team now expects 13% growth, powered by commercial Office upgrades and climbing Copilot adoption, above an earlier 12.5% forecast. Mobile Personal Computing forecasts were also raised to 3.4% growth from 2.4%, reflecting stronger-than-expected PC shipment data.
Looking beyond, Sills's group models fiscal 2026 revenue growth holding at 14% as Azure's share of total sales grows. They flagged further Copilot traction as the next major catalyst for shares trading at a premium to peers.
