MSFT, GOOGL up 45% since 2023

Microsoft and Alphabet enter earnings week as two of Wall Street’s core artificial-intelligence bets, but only Alphabet has roughly doubled since late 2023. (microsoft.com) (macrotrends.net) Alphabet closed at $344.40 on April 24, 2026, a record high and about 144% above its December 29, 2023 close of $140.93. Microsoft closed at $424.62 on April 24, up about 13% from its December 29, 2023 close of $376.04. (macrotrends.net 1) (macrotrends.net 2) That means the headline that both stocks are “up 45% since 2023” does not fit the current tape on April 27, 2026. Alphabet’s move is far larger, and Microsoft’s is far smaller, using adjusted closing-price history through April 24. (macrotrends.net 1) (macrotrends.net 2) The common thread is not identical stock performance. It is spending on the computing gear that runs artificial-intelligence systems: servers, graphics processors, networking, and data centers. (microsoft.com) (abc.xyz) Microsoft told investors on October 29, 2025 that quarterly capital expenditures reached $34.9 billion, driven by demand for cloud and artificial-intelligence offerings. The company said roughly half of that spend went to short-lived assets including graphics processors and central processors. (microsoft.com) Alphabet gave a similar message on February 4, 2026. Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi said about 60% of Alphabet’s 2025 investment went to machines, mainly servers, and said the mix would be “fairly similar” in 2026. (abc.xyz) Operating results show why investors are watching the bills. Microsoft said Microsoft Cloud revenue rose 26% year over year to $49.1 billion in its fiscal first quarter, while Alphabet said Google Cloud revenue grew 48% in the fourth quarter of 2025 and reached an annual run rate above $70 billion. (microsoft.com) (abc.xyz) Both companies report again on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. Microsoft has scheduled its fiscal third-quarter call for that day, and Alphabet has scheduled its first-quarter 2026 call for the same afternoon. (microsoft.com) (abc.xyz) The immediate question is whether revenue growth is still rising fast enough to justify another year of machine-heavy spending. The stock charts already show investors have answered that question very differently for Microsoft and Alphabet. (microsoft.com) (abc.xyz)