New York, Feb 20, 2026, 10:11 EST — Regular session

Microsoft was down around 0.3% at $397.29 early Friday, while Invesco QQQ, which tracks the Nasdaq 100, managed a small gain. SPY, the S&P 500 ETF, dipped a bit.

The stock’s turned into a real-time gauge for what investors will shell out on cloud and AI expansion—even as data center, chip, and power costs keep ratcheting up. Positioning’s tight, so even minor signals are echoing louder than usual.

Microsoft has been slipping along with a deeper divide among the tech giants. Shares had dropped more than 17% in 2026 through Thursday’s close. Amazon, meanwhile, was down 11%, as investors stayed cautious ahead of fresh AI demand data. “It’s kind of a…