Microsoft Corp - MSFT STOCK NEWS

King has launched Candy Crush Solitaire worldwide, combining the classic TriPeaks solitaire card game with the Candy Crush universe. The mobile game features innovative gameplay elements including a 'Hold Slot' feature and the Candy Color Bomb booster in card form.

The launch represents a strategic move for King to expand its portfolio by merging classic gameplay with modern mobile experiences. This addition builds on the success of Candy Crush Saga, which stands as the highest-grossing mobile game in the Western world, featuring over 18,000 levels.

As part of the Microsoft family since 2023, King's new solitaire game aims to bring more innovation to the mobile gaming market. The game is available for free download across major platforms including the Amazon App Store, Apple App Store, Google Play, and Samsung Galaxy Store.

Microsoft and CoreWeave have joined New Jersey state and Princeton University as founding partners in the NJ AI Hub, a collaborative ecosystem for AI innovation. The partners expect to invest over $72 million to support the hub's long-term success, including up to $25 million from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA).

The hub, located at 619 Alexander Road in West Windsor, will focus on three main pillars: research and development in key industries like life sciences and clean energy, commercializing innovation through an AI accelerator program, and strengthening AI education and workforce development. Microsoft will leverage its TechSpark program, which has helped secure over $700 million in community funding and created 4,500 jobs across the US.

A portion of NJEDA's and CoreWeave's funding will include a planned NJ AI Venture Fund for equity investments in innovation commercialization.

Euroclear has announced a 7-year strategic partnership with Microsoft to transform its technology infrastructure and client experience. The collaboration aims to leverage Microsoft's cloud solutions, AI, and analytics to enhance Euroclear's position as a Digital and Data-Enabled Financial Market Infrastructure.

The partnership will focus on four key areas in 2025: developing a financial data sharing ecosystem, transforming Euroclear FundsPlace with AI-driven insights, modernizing customer engagement through a unified platform, and strengthening market infrastructure. The initiative will utilize Microsoft's technologies including Azure, Copilot, Azure AI, Microsoft Fabric, and Teams.

This strategic alliance connects Euroclear's network of over 2,000 financial institutions with Microsoft's cloud capabilities, aiming to shift from traditional sequential workflows to an ecosystem-centric capital markets model. The partnership will enhance platform development, operations, and improve disaster recovery capabilities.

Microsoft (MSFT) reported strong fiscal Q2 2025 results, with revenue reaching $69.6 billion, up 12% year-over-year. Operating income increased 17% to $31.7 billion, while net income grew 10% to $24.1 billion. Diluted earnings per share rose 10% to $3.23.

The company's AI business achieved a significant milestone, surpassing $13 billion in annual revenue run rate, marking a 175% year-over-year increase. Microsoft Cloud revenue grew 21% to $40.9 billion.

Key segment performances include Productivity and Business Processes revenue up 14% to $29.4 billion, Intelligent Cloud revenue increasing 19% to $25.5 billion, and More Personal Computing revenue staying flat at $14.7 billion. The company returned $9.7 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases during the quarter.

Blizzard Entertainment partnered with Idomoo to create millions of personalized videos celebrating 100 million Overwatch players. The campaign featured personalized data points including players' most-played heroes, top teammates, total hours played, and K/D/A ratios.

The initiative achieved significant engagement metrics, driving a 20x higher click-through-open rate and contributing to a 145% increase in weekly email opt-ins. The campaign's success was further demonstrated by a 41% share rate among video viewers, generating substantial social media buzz.

Idomoo's Next Generation Video Platform integrated player data with animated scenes, distributing content via personalized GIFs in marketing emails. The technology enables gaming companies to generate real-time customized recap videos featuring players' achievements, local language options, and interactive CTAs to enhance game time and retention.

Microsoft has announced a $5 million AI for Good Open Call grant program aimed at driving innovation in Washington state. The initiative, launched to celebrate Microsoft's 50th anniversary, invites organizations to leverage AI for addressing social and scientific challenges. Eligible participants include nonprofits, academic institutions, researchers, startups, and businesses based in or benefiting Washington state.

Projects must focus on sustainability, public health, education, or human rights. Selected grantees will collaborate with Microsoft's AI scientists and receive access to Azure compute resources. Applications are open until February 17, 2025, with notifications scheduled for March 18, 2025. Successful applicants must demonstrate potential for creating unique, scalable solutions backed by clean, accurate, and unbiased data.

Permuto Capital has filed a registration statement with the SEC for a new type of equity product through a voting trust investment vehicle. The trust will initially hold Microsoft (MSFT) common stock and issue two types of certificates: dividend certificates and appreciation certificates, representing the dividend and capital appreciation portions of the underlying stock respectively.

These certificates will trade separately, allowing investors to choose their exposure. Certificate holders can trade through either The Depository Trust Company or the Chia blockchain. The trust plans to limit holdings to 10% of MSFT's outstanding shares. Only qualified institutional buyers and accredited investors can initially deposit shares, but secondary market trading will be open to all investors.

Certificate holders will have voting rights proportionate to trading prices. Permuto will charge transaction fees for deposits and redemptions, plus a fee based on distributions to dividend certificates. The trust will not receive cash proceeds from certificate issuance.

Pearson (PSO) and Microsoft (MSFT) announced a strategic partnership to address AI skilling challenges in the workforce. The collaboration combines Pearson's learning expertise with Microsoft's cloud and AI technologies to develop new AI-powered products and services.

Key aspects of the partnership include: Pearson leveraging Microsoft Azure Cloud and AI infrastructure to scale personalized learning services; development of new AI credentials and certifications; extension of Pearson VUE's Microsoft certification partnership through 2029; and Pearson's deployment of Microsoft 365 Copilot across its workforce.

The partnership addresses critical market needs, as IDC research shows lack of skilled workers is the biggest challenge for AI implementation, with 66% of leaders unwilling to hire candidates without AI skills. Pearson's research indicates generative AI could save U.S. workers 78 million hours weekly on routine tasks.

Microsoft (MSFT) has announced it will release its fiscal year 2025 second-quarter financial results after market close on Wednesday, January 29, 2025. The results will be published on the Microsoft Investor Relations website. A live webcast of the earnings conference call will be available at 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time.