Meta and Microsoft have added a staggering $500 billion in combined market value overnight, following blockbuster earnings reports that exceeded Wall Street expectations and sent their share prices soaring.
The surge marks a major milestone for both tech giants—and a moment of triumph for investors riding the artificial intelligence wave.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, saw its share price leap more than 11 per cent in pre-market trading, adding over $190 billion (£143 billion) to its market capitalisation. Microsoft, meanwhile, jumped 8.5 per cent, translating into a $320 billion (£241 billion) rise and pushing the company’s valuation beyond the $4 trillion mark—making it only the second business in history to hit that level after Nvidia.
Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said the overnight gains were “the sort most companies can only dream of”. He added: “They’ve smashed market forecasts by a country mile and caused investors to scream with joy.”
The uplift is largely credited to booming revenues from cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company’s long-term goal is to deliver “personal superintelligence for everyone” as it ramps up its AI development.
“I spent a lot of time building this team this quarter,” Zuckerberg said, referring to Meta’s new AI division. High-profile hires include Scale AI co-founder Alexander Wang, with other industry leaders reportedly being lured with multi-million dollar packages.
“We’re making all these investments because we have conviction that superintelligence is going to improve every aspect of what we do,” Zuckerberg added.
Microsoft’s rally was driven by strong demand for its AI assistant Copilot, which now boasts over 100 million users. The company said it would further accelerate investment in AI-driven software, deepening its lead in the enterprise technology space.
Coatsworth noted that Microsoft’s new implied valuation of $4.13 trillion makes it the second most valuable company in the US stock market, behind only Nvidia.
“Incredibly, Microsoft and Meta together are now worth $5.81 trillion—roughly twice the total value of the entire FTSE 100 index,” he said. “That’s quite something and goes to show how the UK market’s lack of big technology names has left it trailing behind.”
The news comes as the make-up of the US tech elite continues to shift. The so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’—which once included Apple, Tesla, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon and Alphabet—appears to be evolving into a smaller group of frontrunners.
“Apple and Tesla have both suffered double-digit share price losses this year, so it’s time to bid farewell to the ‘Mag7’ banner,” said Coatsworth. “These stocks are no longer driving the market, so the banner needs refreshing. We’re now in the new era of the ‘Famous Five’, with Meta and Microsoft doing their best to dethrone Nvidia as the most exciting tech play.”
The extraordinary gains underline the accelerating pace of AI-fuelled transformation in big tech. While questions remain around regulation, ethics, and long-term monetisation, one thing is clear: investors are placing their bets on a future defined by artificial intelligence—and the companies best positioned to lead it.
Read more:
Meta and Microsoft add $500bn in value overnight as AI boom fuels investor euphoria
