Will both Microsoft and Meta stocks rise the day after they report earnings on July 29?
66% of users predicted YES — the community missed this one. 41 predictions cast.
Microsoft and Meta stocks moved in opposite directions the day after both companies reported earnings on July 29, 2026, so the two did not rise together. Microsoft shares jumped roughly 9.8% to 15% depending on the intraday measure, posting one of its best trading days since 2008 and adding nearly $450 billion in market value, after revenue climbed 18% to $90.01 billion and Azure cloud growth hit 43%. Meta shares instead fell about 9% to 10%, extending a losing streak, after earnings per share of $6.18 missed consensus by roughly $1.02 and free cash flow dropped sharply from a year earlier.
The divergence stemmed from how investors judged each company's return on heavy AI infrastructure spending. Microsoft demonstrated concrete external demand for its Azure AI services and enterprise cloud cross-selling, while Meta's spending remained tied to less-proven, longer-horizon AI bets, prompting analysts to press executives on the earnings call for a clearer monetization timeline.
The result fit a broader late-July pattern in which Wall Street began differentiating sharply between AI spenders showing revenue payoff and those still promising future returns.
The community got this wrong, with 66% predicting both stocks would rise.