Microsoft faces investor criticism over opaque financial reporting across capex, its OpenAI deal, and Azure, which is buried in the Intelligent Cloud segment (Jonathan Weil/Wall Street Journal)

Investors fault Microsoft for lacking transparency in its capital-expenditure disclosures, particularly the size and terms of its multibillion-dollar OpenAI partnership and the performance of Azure services, which are concealed within the broader Intelligent Cloud segment. The criticism highlights how the opaque reporting hampers shareholders’ ability to assess the true financial impact of these strategic initiatives.