Market data and company results used in this article are current through August 6, 2026. I have a recurring problem with Microsoft stock: every time I decide it looks expensive, the company produces another quarter that makes “expensive” sound less like analysis and more like a personal failure of imagination. This is the emotional trap of owning—or considering owning—a truly exceptional business. A mediocre company can be dismissed with a spreadsheet and a functioning sense of self-preservation. Microsoft forces me to argue with myself. The valuation looks demanding, the artificial-intelligence spending looks enormous, and the expectations look high enough to require supplemental oxygen. Then Microsoft reports 18% revenue growth on a base of more than $280 billion, Azure grows 43%, operating income rises 18%, and I am left staring at the numbers like a man who arrived at a duel carrying a strongly worded memo. As of August 6, Microsoft shares trade around $487. The market values the c...
What I’m watching when Broadcom reports fiscal third-quarter results on September 2, 2026 Broadcom is approaching the kind of earnings report that makes reasonable investors behave like unpaid detectives. The company will report fiscal third-quarter 2026 results after the market closes on September 2. Between now and then, I expect analysts to inspect cloud capital-expenditure plans, custom accelerator shipments, networking demand, VMware contract trends, margin assumptions, and possibly the tone of Hock Tan’s breathing. This is what happens when a company becomes one of the market’s most important artificial-intelligence suppliers: excellent execution stops being impressive and becomes the minimum cover charge. I understand the excitement. Broadcom’s latest results were extraordinary. Fiscal second-quarter revenue reached $22.2 billion, up 48% from a year earlier. AI semiconductor revenue hit $10.8 billion, an increase of 143%. Adjusted EBITDA was $15.2 billion, or 69% of revenue. Fre...