Daniel Sparks, The Motley Fool
Sat, July 4, 2026 astatine 5:10 PM CDT 5 min read
OpenAI reportedly wants to spell nationalist astatine a valuation of $1 trillion oregon more. And nary shareholder has much riding connected that fig than Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) -- a institution having the worst 2026 of immoderate "Magnificent Seven" member.
The pairing is unusual erstwhile you enactment it up. Microsoft shares are down astir 19% this twelvemonth and beryllium astir 30% beneath their 52-week high. Yet the aforesaid institution owns astir 27% of what is arguably 1 of the astir invaluable backstage exertion companies successful the satellite -- a involvement that could soon transportation a nationalist terms tag.
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So does the IPO mathematics alteration the bargain lawsuit for a beaten-down Microsoft? Let's tally it.
The involvement mathematics
Start with what Microsoft really owns. When OpenAI completed its restructuring into a nationalist payment corp past October, Microsoft disclosed that its concern represented astir 27% of the institution connected an as-converted diluted basis, valued astatine astir $135 billion. The aforesaid statement extended Microsoft's rights to OpenAI's exertion done 2032 and included a committedness from OpenAI to acquisition an further $250 cardinal of Azure services.
Then came June. OpenAI confirmed it had filed confidential paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an archetypal nationalist offering (IPO), the archetypal ceremonial measurement toward a listing. And according to reporting from The New York Times, the institution is present leaning toward a 2027 debut alternatively than precocious 2026 -- mostly due to the fact that CEO Sam Altman has reportedly refused to judge a valuation beneath $1 trillion.
Here's the mathematics that matters for Microsoft shareholders. If OpenAI lists astatine $1 trillion, a 27% involvement would beryllium worthy astir $270 cardinal -- astir treble the worth implied erstwhile the woody was struck, and adjacent to astir 9% of Microsoft's full $2.9 trillion marketplace capitalization.
Some caveats, however, beryllium adjacent to that figure.
The IPO timing and terms are rumored intentions, not commitments. OpenAI volition apt support raising capital, which tin dilute the percent implicit clip -- the 27% fig already reflects dilution from OpenAI's caller backing rounds. And a listing wouldn't manus Microsoft cash. It would manus it a visible, liquid terms for thing the marketplace presently values with a shrug.
That past constituent is the opportunity. Buried wrong 2026's worst-performing mega headdress sits an plus that could beryllium worthy astir a tenth of the company's marketplace value, and an IPO would unit investors to yet terms it.

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