Microsoft recorded $3.2 billion in Anthropic investment, but OpenAI has been a mixed bag

When Microsoft reported killer fourth-quarter earnings for fiscal 2026 (which ended June 30), it provided an interesting tidbit of information about how its investments in the two largest competing AI labs were performing.

During the quarter, its investment in Anthropic posted gains of $3.2 billion, 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 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 humanitarian investment every quarter. However, it discusses its investment in OpenAI every quarter. Microsoft said the investment wasn’t nearly as good in the quarter, and it cut it by about $600 million, reducing diluted earnings per share by about 7 cents per share.

Microsoft owns about 27% of OpenAI. While Microsoft also receives revenue share payments, it does not report how much OpenAI pays under the arrangement. Instead, Microsoft is calculating the value of its investment. While this quarter saw a very significant decline in the value of this investment, the $600 million write-down was still mostly a rounding error for Microsoft. The company had a very profitable quarter, reporting revenue of $90 billion and net income of $35.8 billion for the quarter. Microsoft’s revenue was $331.8 billion with net income of $133.7 billion for the year.

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

Over the course of the year, Microsoft’s OpenAI investment generated $5 billion in gains and added $0.67 to EPS, respectively, the company reported. (Microsoft reported earnings of $17.95 per share in its fiscal year.) However, it’s worth noting that Microsoft reported nearly as much gain at Anthropic in one quarter as it did during the year at OpenAI. In fact, it is worth noting that Microsoft revealed it.