Microsoft (MSFT) Posted 43% Azure Growth, Yet Trades Below Its Own Five-Year P/E. A Real Discount?

Microsoft's cloud business crossed a line it had never crossed before: Azure passed $100 billion in annual revenue for fiscal 2026. In the fiscal fourth quarter alone, Azure and other cloud services grew 43% (unchanged in constant currency) That's the paradox. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) sells the software much of the working world runs on, including Microsoft 365, LinkedIn, and Dynamics 365, and rents out computing power through Azure. Customers pay subscriptions and usage fees, and the company is layering AI assistants called Copilot on top. So is the lower multiple a bargain on a business still growing fast, or a fair markdown for a company spending heavily to keep up?