Microsoft logs $3.2B from Anthropic investment, but OpenAI was a mixed bag¶

TechCrunch · 2026-07-30

When Microsoft reported killerfourth-quarter earningsfor 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 Anthropicas a $3.2 billion gain, boosting diluted earnings per share by 33 cents. (Microsoft reported diluted earnings per share of $4.81 for the quarter). Microsoft invested $5 billion in Anthropicin November 2025as 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 downabout $600 million, reducing diluted EPS by about 7 cents per share.

Microsoft ownsabout 27% of OpenAI. And while Microsoft also receives revenue-share payments, it doesn’t report how much OpenAI pays under that arrangement. Instead, Microsoft accounts for the value of its investment. While this quarter brought a pretty sizable decline in the value of that investment, the $600 million write-down was still mostly a rounding error for Microsoft. The company delivered a highly profitable quarter, reporting $90 billion of revenue and net income of $35.8 billion for the quarter. Microsoft’s revenue was $331.8 billion with a net income of $133.7 billion for the year.

Microsoft’s OpenAI investment looks much better when viewed on a full-year basis.

For the year, Microsoft’s OpenAI investment generated a $5 billion gain and added $0.67 on EPS, respectively,the company reported.(Microsoft reported $17.95 EPS for its fiscal year.) Still, it is noteworthy that Microsoft reported nearly as much of a gain on Anthropic in one quarter as it did for the year on OpenAI. In fact, it is so noteworthy that Microsoft disclosed it.

Topics

Scale faster. Grow your portfolio. Gain practical expertise. No matter your goal, Disrupt can empower you.Save up to $330 today!

Newsletters¶

Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news

EnterpriseMicrosoft is openly competing with OpenAI, Anthropic more than everJulie Bort5 hours ago

Microsoft is openly competing with OpenAI, Anthropic more than ever¶

Julie Bort
AIThe Hugging Face AI break-in explainedConnie Loizos10 hours ago

The Hugging Face AI break-in explained¶

Connie Loizos
StartupsMCP startup Runlayer accuses Rippling of stealing its product ideaJulie Bort1 day ago

MCP startup Runlayer accuses Rippling of stealing its product idea¶

Julie Bort

Latest in AI¶

EnterpriseMicrosoft is openly competing with OpenAI, Anthropic more than everJulie Bort5 hours ago

Microsoft is openly competing with OpenAI, Anthropic more than ever¶

Julie Bort
AIMark Zuckerberg predicts that billions of people will have personal AI agents in five yearsAmanda Silberling7 hours ago

Mark Zuckerberg predicts that billions of people will have personal AI agents in five years¶

Amanda Silberling
In BriefMicrosoft logs $3.2B from Anthropic investment, but OpenAI was a mixed bagJulie Bort7 hours ago