In its recent financial report for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026, which ended on June 30, Microsoft revealed significant insights regarding its investments in leading AI firms.
During this quarter, Microsoft reported a $3.2 billion gain from its investment in Anthropic, which contributed an additional 33 cents to its diluted earnings per share. The company’s diluted earnings per share for the quarter stood at $4.81. This follows Microsoft’s $5 billion investment in Anthropic made in November 2025, as part of an arrangement that included Anthropic committing to purchasing $30 billion in Azure services.
Though Microsoft does not regularly provide updates on its investment in Anthropic each quarter, it does provide quarterly insights on its investment in OpenAI. However, the outlook for the OpenAI investment was less favorable this quarter, leading to a $600 million write-down, which decreased the diluted earnings per share by approximately 7 cents.
Microsoft holds about 27% of OpenAI, and while it receives revenue-sharing payments from the firm, it does not disclose the exact amounts received. Instead, Microsoft records the value of the investment itself. Despite the noticeable decline in value this quarter, the $600 million reduction is relatively minor for the company, which reported a profitable quarter with $90 billion in revenue and a net income of $35.8 billion. For the entire year, Microsoft’s revenue reached $331.8 billion with a net income of $133.7 billion.
When assessed over the full fiscal year, Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI performed significantly better.
For the year, the OpenAI investment yielded a $5 billion gain and increased earnings per share by $0.67, according to the company’s report, highlighting an annual earnings per share of $17.95. However, it is notable that in just one quarter, Microsoft recorded nearly as much profit from Anthropic as it did for the entire year with OpenAI, a fact the company chose to emphasize in its disclosures.
