Redmond is deploying a two-pronged defensive strategy – bringing artificial intelligence into the classroom and handing Windows 10 users a longer security blanket – yet the shares continue to trade within touching distance of their 52-week trough. Microsoft stock recently changed hands at €313.35, a decline of more than 22% since the start of the year, and sits less than 2% above the 12-month low of €307.10. The pain is not new: over the past twelve months the equity has lost 27% of its value, and at 35% below the October peak of €478.10, the Recovery Road remains long.
Copilot Lands in the Classroom
Microsoft is embedding its artificial intelligence deeply into the daily routines of schools. Beginning at an education trade fair in Orlando on 28 June, the company will roll out Copilot Notebooks as part of Microsoft 365 Education – at no additional cost. Teachers will be able to generate lesson plans in minutes, set usage policies for students, and tap an interactive digital assistant that delivers real-time feedback on practice exercises. Privacy and security, the company stresses, are built into every layer.
The move targets a glaring gap. Internal data show that 92% of students and school leaders already use generative AI for academic work, yet 77% of students have never received formal training in the technology. Among teachers, more than half report an absence of any professional development on AI. Microsoft is filling that void with a free certification programme designed to teach educators how to deploy the tools responsibly – an early hook that locks users into the company’s ecosystem.
A Safety Net for Windows 10 Holdouts
Alongside the education push, Microsoft is throwing a lifeline to the millions of devices still running Windows 10. After official support ended on 14 October 2025, the company is now offering a Consumer Extended Security Updates (ESU) programme that will deliver critical security patches until 12 October 2027. Only devices with version 22H2 are eligible.
Users can enrol through one of three avenues: free of charge if PC setting synchronisation is enabled, via 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points, or through a one-time payment of $30. A single licence covers up to ten machines, and those already registered will receive the extended coverage automatically. There are no new features, product improvements, or technical support – it is a pure security bridge, useful for retaining the installed base but unlikely to accelerate Windows 11 upgrades or drive meaningful revenue growth.
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Growth Is Happening – But Not in Consumer Windows
The Windows 10 extension comes as Microsoft’s quarterly results highlight where real expansion is taking place. In the fiscal third quarter ended April, the company reported revenue of $82.9 billion, up 18% year on year. Operating income jumped 20% to $38.4 billion, while earnings per share rose 23% to $4.27.
The cloud, AI services and enterprise software are the engines. The Personal Computing segment, however, went the other direction: revenue fell $179 million, and Windows and devices specifically lost $103 million compared with the same quarter a year earlier. The consumer operating system business is shrinking, making the ESU programme a defensive play to keep users within the Microsoft ecosystem rather than a catalyst for new hardware cycles.
Chart Still Shows Major Strain
Technical indicators underscore the market’s caution. The stock trades 18% below its 200-day moving average of €384.49 and well under the 50-day line of €353.51. While Tuesday brought a marginal gain of roughly 1%, that bounce fits neatly into a larger corrective pattern rather than signalling a lasting bottom. The relative strength index sits at 31, approaching oversold territory but not yet generating a convincing buy signal.
Between the classroom AI push and the Windows 10 safety net, Microsoft is fortifying its ecosystem on two fronts. Yet neither move directly addresses the questions that worry investors most: how steep the capital expenditure curve for AI will remain, whether cloud margins can hold up under that spending, and when – if ever – the consumer Windows business can return to growth. Until those answers become clearer, the shares are likely to keep hugging the lows.
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