Anthropic Gains Offset OpenAI Slump in Microsoft's $35.8B Quarterly Profit Report

Contrasting Valuations for AI Rivals

Microsoft’s final quarterly report for fiscal year 2026 revealed a sharp divergence in the performance of its secondary AI investments. The company posted a $3.2 billion gain from its stake in Anthropic, a move that added $0.33 to its diluted earnings per share (EPS). This surge follows a November 2025 deal where Microsoft injected $5 billion into the AI lab, coupled with a commitment from Anthropic to purchase $30 billion in Azure cloud services.

Conversely, the tech giant’s more prominent partner, OpenAI, faced a quarterly valuation adjustment. Microsoft recorded a $600 million markdown on its OpenAI investment, clipping $0.07 from the quarterly EPS. Microsoft currenty maintains a 27% ownership stake in the firm. While the quarterly dip is notable, the long-term trajectory for the partnership remains positive; for the full fiscal year, the OpenAI stake yielded a total gain of $5 billion, contributing $0.67 to the annual EPS.

Fiscal 2026 Performance Metrics

The fluctuations in AI asset values occurred against a backdrop of record-breaking financial health. Microsoft concluded the year ending June 30 with $331.8 billion in total revenue and $133.7 billion in net income. Key quarterly highlights include:

• Quarterly Net Income: $35.8 billion
• Quarterly Revenue: $90 billion
• Diluted Quarterly EPS: $4.81 (inclusive of AI adjustments)
• Annual Diluted EPS: $17.95

The Anthropic Disclosure

Unlike its quarterly updates for OpenAI, Microsoft does not typically recalibrate its Anthropic valuation with such frequency. The decision to disclose the $3.2 billion windfall suggests the scale of the gain was significant enough to merit transparency. Although Microsoft receives revenue-share payments from OpenAI, these specific figures are not public, as the company chooses to report strictly on the investment's adjusted book value rather than service-level income streams.

Source: Tech Crunch