By Omor Ibne Ehsan
Publication Date: 2026-10-29 17:06:00
A global memory shortage is doing something no software competitor has managed: shrinking Microsoft’s Windows business faster with each passing quarter, and the damage is spreading beyond PC makers into the data centers powering Microsoft’s own AI ambitions.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) said on October 28, 2026, that its Windows business will shrink faster in the December quarter than in the September quarter it had just reported. The stock closed at $531.01 before the results. It then rose 2.90% to $546.39 in after-hours trading as of about 7:59 p.m. ET, because cloud strength offset the Windows warning.
In this case, Windows sales means Windows OEM revenue, which is the license fees Microsoft collects from PC makers such as HP (NYSE:HPQ) and Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL). That revenue moves with PC unit sales. The memory shortage that is pressuring those PC makers also raises what Microsoft pays to build data centers.