Microsoft reported that Azure AI usage grew by 78% year-over-year in Q4 2025, with enterprise customers deploying over 15,000 custom AI models on the platform. The multi-model infrastructure now supports access to frontier models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta, enabling clients to integrate advanced natural language and vision capabilities without replacing existing on-premises systems. Executives highlighted that AI workloads now account for 22% of total Azure consumption, up from 12% a year earlier, contributing to sustained double-digit revenue growth in the cloud division and boosting overall gross margin by 120 basis points sequentially.

Switzerland's Competition Commission has launched a preliminary investigation into Microsoft’s software licensing practices following complaints from public-sector bodies and mid-sized enterprises regarding fee increases of 15% to 20% on Windows Server and SQL Server products. The regulator will examine whether recent contract terms and bundled licensing requirements violate competition rules. If the probe advances to a formal investigation, Microsoft could face mandated adjustments to its licensing framework and potential fines, creating uncertainty for negotiations with government agencies and large corporate clients across Europe.

In a landmark environmental deal, Microsoft has agreed to acquire 2.85 million soil carbon credits from Indigo Carbon, representing an estimated removal of 1.9 million metric tons of CO2e through regenerative agriculture practices on U.S. farmland. This transaction is the largest single-year soil carbon credit purchase by any technology company to date and advances Microsoft’s commitment to become carbon negative by 2030. The credits will be retired over the next five years, with Microsoft projecting a cumulative reduction of 5.7 million metric tons of CO2e by 2035 when combined with ongoing investments in renewable energy and electrification of its data center fleet.