Microsoft logs $3.2B from Anthropic investment, but OpenAI was a mixed bag
Microsoft reported a $3.2 billion gain from its investment in Anthropic, while marking down its OpenAI investment by $600 million for the quarter. Despite the volatility in AI investments, Microsoft remains highly profitable with significant annual revenue growth.
Why it matters
The financial performance of these investments highlights the shifting market dynamics between major AI labs and their corporate backers.
When Microsoft reported killer fourth-quarter earnings for its fiscal 2026 year (which ended June 30), it tucked in an interesting little tidbit about how its investments in the two biggest, and competing, AI labs are doing.
For the quarter, it recorded its investment in Anthropic as a $3.2 billion gain , boosting diluted earnings [er share by 33 cents. (Microsoft reported diluted earnings per share of $4.81 for the quarter). Microsoft invested $5 billion in Anthropic in November 2025 as part of a circular agreement under which the AI lab also agreed to buy $30 billion worth of Azure services.
Microsoft does not routinely update the value of its Anthropic investment each quarter. It does, however, discuss its OpenAI investment quarterly. Microsoft said investment did not fare nearly as well in the quarter, and marked it down about $600 million , reducing diluted EPS by about 7 cents per share.
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