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Summary
Microsoft (MSFT) rose 1.54% to $532.60 on Monday, October 26, 2026, ahead of the Nasdaq Composite's 0.82% gain.
Stocktwits tied the market's advance to AI enthusiasm after Anthropic's IPO filing, and no report named a Microsoft-specific cause.
Microsoft offered voluntary buyouts to around 60,000 employees, per Euronews, and publishes fiscal first-quarter results after the close on October 28.
Gotrade News - Microsoft (MSFT) rose 1.54% to close at $532.60 on Monday, October 26, 2026, a gain of $8.09 in the US session. The day's Microsoft stock news ran on two tracks: Stocktwits tied the broader market's advance to renewed AI enthusiasm after Anthropic released its IPO filing, while Microsoft offered voluntary buyouts to around 60,000 employees, according to Euronews.
MSFT Trading Data
Data
Value
Closing price
$532.60
Change
+$8.09 (+1.54%)
Previous close
$524.51
Open
$527.40
Day range
$521.69 to $533.25
Volume
19.0 million shares
30-day average volume
21.4 million shares
52-week range
$349.20 to $553.72
Market cap
$3.95 trillion
Regular-session close on Monday, October 26, 2026, 4:00 p.m. New York time. Stock prices: Yahoo Finance, cross-checked against the closing price on Nasdaq.com. Volume and 30-day average volume: Nasdaq.com. 52-week range: Yahoo Finance daily highs and lows since October 27, 2025. Indices and the 10-year Treasury yield: Yahoo Finance daily closes for the same date.
Microsoft opened at $527.40, dipped to a session low of $521.69 and then climbed to finish $10.91 above that low, just under the day's high of $533.25. Volume came to 19.0 million shares, 11.23% below the 21.4 million share average, so the gain arrived on lighter than usual trading.
The stock beat the broader market. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.82% to 26,169.38, the S&P 500 gained 0.70% to 7,676.77 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.28% to 52,361.58, leaving Microsoft 0.72 percentage points ahead of the Nasdaq. The US 10-year Treasury yield was little changed at 4.99%, down 0.2 basis points.
Among the Big Tech names that Stocktwits said report later this week, Amazon (AMZN) rose 0.44% to $249.09, while Alphabet (GOOGL) slipped 1.06% to $316.80. Nvidia (NVDA) added 2.39% to $216.00. At the close, Microsoft sat 3.81% below its 52-week high and 52.52% above its 52-week low.
None of the reports reviewed tied Monday's gain directly to a Microsoft-specific announcement, so the move is best read against a firmer market and the AI trade.
According to Stocktwits, the major US indices closed higher after Anthropic made its IPO filing public, which lifted investor optimism about AI stocks. The outlet said more than 1,900 customers paid Anthropic at least $1 million over the past year, nearly double the April count.
On the company side, Microsoft's chief people officer Amy Coleman announced a time-limited "Voluntary Exit Offer" in a memo to staff on Monday, as reported by Euronews.
About 60,000 employees at level 70 and below, on select teams in the US, Canada, India and the UK, are reported to be eligible. Coleman called the offer an "important part of how we're evolving our approach to change," while Stocktwits, citing Bloomberg, described it as a workforce reduction initiative.
The offer follows about 4,800 role cuts in July, roughly 2.1% of Microsoft's global workforce at the time, per Euronews. Earlier this year, the company said more than 30% of staff eligible for an early retirement offer chose to take it.
MSFT Stock Analysis: Supporting Factors and Risks
Supporting Factors
AI sentiment: Stocktwits reported that Anthropic's IPO filing lifted investor optimism about AI stocks across the market on Monday.
Relative strength: Microsoft's 1.54% gain outpaced the Nasdaq Composite by 0.72 percentage points, and the stock closed near the top of its day range, 3.81% below its 52-week high.
A voluntary route for workforce change: Microsoft describes the exit offer as time-limited and voluntary, with financial support and career planning resources for those who leave, according to Euronews.
Uncertain workforce outcome: Euronews said it is not yet known how many of the roughly 60,000 eligible employees will accept, and the offer comes three months after the July role cuts.
According to Microsoft's own announcement, the company will publish its fiscal year 2027 first-quarter earnings report after the market close on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, with the conference call webcast at 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time.
This article is for education and information only and is not investment advice. Investment decisions are yours to make after your own research.
Gotrade is the trading name of Gotrade Securities Inc., which is registered with and supervised by the Labuan Financial Services Authority (LFSA). This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research (DYOR) before investing.
M. Alfathan Rahman is a content writer with over 3 years of experience developing digital content strategies across various industries, including fintech. He has experience producing content for tax-related websites and financial education platforms. His focus areas include data research, and crafting financial articles that are informative, accurate, and accessible to investors of all experience levels.
Hendrie Saputra holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in Business Risk & Finance, along with professional experience in finance, marketing, and project management. He is experienced in analyzing market data and developing research-driven business strategies.
