In early February 2026 the U.S. stock market hit record highs, yet shares of two major firms fell. PayPal and Microsoft moved lower after a leadership change and mixed results from cloud growth.
At PayPal, CEO Alex Chriss exited and shares dropped about 20%. The company named HP executive Enrique Lore as its new president and CEO, and “The big question is whether he will bring in a formidable payments team to attempt yet another multi-year turnaround or look to start reviewing options for strategic assets,” analysts at Evercore ISI said.
Forecast services see room for recovery for PayPal. According to TipRanks, the stock could reach $90 within 12 months, with an average 12‑month price target of $62.22 from 29 analysts, a $40–$100 range and about a 49.2% upside from the then‑current $41.70.
Microsoft shares fell roughly 10% despite strong results, after Azure revenue grew near 39% versus 40% expected. (Ed. note: the small shortfall in Azure growth influenced investor expectations.) “It now looks like the company will not really accelerate Azure further from here. Due to the law of large numbers and extra capacity being used for its own. Higher-margin, first-party offerings like Co-Pilot and its own AI R&D efforts,” he said.
Analyst projections for Microsoft remain high. TipRanks lists an average 12‑month target of $603.47, a $450–$678 range, and roughly a 46.8% upside from $411.21.
