Microsoft (MSFT) reports fiscal Q1 revenue of $92.3 billion | market news, Oct 28, 2026
Markets focused on a split Fed hold, strong AI-infrastructure demand, and a heavy slate of technology earnings led by Microsoft, Alphabet, ServiceNow, Vertiv, and memory-chip supplier SK hynix.
News
Google DeepMind unveils Genie 4 interactive world model
Google DeepMind announced Genie 4 on October 27 as a multimodal world model designed to generate interactive environments with photorealistic visuals, movement, ambient audio, music, and dialogue. The research preview is initially limited to trusted testers, with broader access planned for Google AI Ultra subscribers and selected Gemini API and AI Studio partners. **Why it matters:** Interactive world models could expand AI demand beyond chat and video into robotics training, gaming, simulation, and autonomous-agent development.
Liquid AI releases LFM3 compact open-weight model family
Liquid AI introduced the LFM3 family, consisting of roughly 2-billion-parameter models for text, vision, audio, omni-modal, and decision-making tasks. The company said the models were pretrained on 22 trillion tokens and made available through Hugging Face, Liquid AI’s API, and its Playground. **Why it matters:** Smaller open-weight models could shift portions of enterprise AI inference toward local and specialized deployments, reducing reliance on frontier-scale cloud infrastructure.
Guidewire agrees to acquire hyperexponential for up to $2.1 billion
Guidewire agreed to acquire AI underwriting and pricing platform hyperexponential for $1.7 billion in cash plus up to $400 million in contingent consideration. Hyperexponential’s platform supports underwriting and pricing across more than $75 billion in annual commercial property-and-casualty premiums. **Why it matters:** The transaction illustrates how vertical AI software is being incorporated into high-value insurance decision systems rather than sold only as a general-purpose assistant.
SK hynix results lift the broader AI-memory trade
SK hynix reported record quarterly revenue and operating profit, while the company said HBM4 would become its main product beginning in the fourth quarter and that long-term agreements covered more than half of its 2027–2028 production capacity. Yahoo Finance reported that Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, Micron, and other semiconductor stocks rose as investors responded to the results. **Why it matters:** The update reinforces the importance of memory availability and HBM capacity as constraints on AI-server expansion.
Federal Reserve holds rates steady but records two hawkish dissents
The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest-rate target in a range of 3.75% to 4.00%. The decision was 10–2, with Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack preferring a rate increase; the Fed also maintained the interest rate paid on reserve balances at 3.90%. **Why it matters:** The hold avoids an immediate tightening surprise, but the two dissenting votes and elevated-inflation language keep the possibility of a December hike central to bond and equity-market pricing.
Bitcoin-backed mortgages planned for Canada in early 2027
Toronto-based APX Lending said it plans to offer bitcoin-backed mortgages in the first quarter of 2027 and opened a borrower waitlist. The company has not yet announced interest rates, repayment periods, loan-to-value limits, or margin-call conditions; CoinDesk noted that a 40% bitcoin decline could push a standalone loan beginning at 50% loan-to-value to approximately 83%. **Why it matters:** The proposed product expands bitcoin’s use as collateral but also highlights liquidation and margin risks if crypto volatility is transmitted into residential lending.
Earnings
Microsoft (MSFT) reports fiscal Q1 revenue of $92.3 billion
Microsoft reported fiscal first-quarter revenue of $92.3 billion, operating income of $45.9 billion, GAAP diluted EPS of $4.92, and Microsoft Cloud revenue of $63.9 billion. Azure revenue increased 48%, while commercial remaining performance obligations rose 73% to $677 billion. **Why it matters:** Strong Azure growth and a $677 billion commercial backlog support the investment case for continued AI and cloud demand, although the scale of infrastructure spending remains a key margin consideration.
Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) reports Q3 revenue of $127.6 billion
Alphabet reported third-quarter revenue of $127.6 billion, net income of $26.2 billion, and EPS of $2.12. Google Cloud revenue increased 103% to $30.7 billion, while Google Services revenue rose 11% to $96.3 billion. **Why it matters:** The sharp acceleration in Google Cloud and enterprise AI infrastructure revenue provides a direct read-through on hyperscaler AI monetization.
ServiceNow (NOW) reports Q3 subscription revenue of $3.988 billion
ServiceNow reported third-quarter subscription revenue of $3.988 billion, up 21% year over year, and total revenue of $4.106 billion, up 20.5%. The company raised its 2026 AI annual contract value target to $1.7 billion, up 70% from the beginning of the year. **Why it matters:** The higher AI contract-value target suggests that enterprise-agent demand is becoming a measurable contributor to software bookings rather than only a product-development theme.
Vertiv (VRT) reports Q3 sales of $4.313 billion and raises guidance
Vertiv reported third-quarter net sales of $4.313 billion, up 61% year over year, with diluted EPS of $1.95 and adjusted diluted EPS of $2.21. The company raised full-year 2026 guidance to midpoint net sales of $14.650 billion and adjusted diluted EPS of $7.15. **Why it matters:** Vertiv’s 61% sales growth and raised outlook strengthen the case that data-center power and cooling demand is translating into supplier revenue.
GE Vernova (GEV) reports Q3 revenue of $12.6 billion and raises 2026 outlook
GE Vernova reported third-quarter revenue of $12.6 billion, orders of $29.3 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $1.9 billion, and backlog of $197 billion. The company also increased its share-repurchase authorization to $20 billion from $10 billion. **Why it matters:** The surge in orders and backlog signals that grid, gas-power, and electrification equipment remain major beneficiaries of rising data-center and power-system investment.
SK hynix (000660) reports Q3 revenue of 104.6155 trillion won
SK hynix reported third-quarter revenue of 104.6155 trillion won, operating profit of 83.3338 trillion won, and net profit of 39.7756 trillion won. Revenue exceeded 100 trillion won for the first time in the company’s history. **Why it matters:** Record HBM and server-memory demand provides a significant read-through for the AI accelerator supply chain, including memory, packaging, and data-center infrastructure suppliers.
Sources
- deepmind.google (as of 2026-10-27)
- liquid.ai (as of 2026-10-27)
- guidewire.gcs-web.com (as of 2026-10-27)
- finance.yahoo.com (as of 2026-10-28)
- federalreserve.gov (as of 2026-10-28)
- coindesk.com (as of 2026-10-28)
- news.microsoft.com (as of 2026-10-28)
- publicnow.com (as of 2026-10-28)
- investor.servicenow.com (as of 2026-10-28)
- investors.vertiv.com (as of 2026-10-28)
- sec.gov (as of 2026-10-28)
- news.skhynix.com (as of 2026-10-28)