Investing.com -- Goldman Sachs is standing behind Microsoft following the company's third-quarter fiscal results, maintaining a buy rating and a 12-month price target of $610 on the stock, even as shares trade lower on Thursday.

Microsoft reported third-quarter revenue of $82.9 billion, up 18% year over year and 2% above Street estimates. Non-GAAP earnings per share of $4.27, up 23% year over year, came in 5% above consensus.

Analyst Gabriela Borges said Goldman views the quarter as a turning point for a stock that has lagged peers.

Goldman highlighted Azure guidance as a positive, with Microsoft projecting 39% to 40% constant-currency growth in the fiscal fourth quarter and modest acceleration in the first half of fiscal 2027.

Microsoft also guided to $190 billion in capital expenditure for calendar year 2026, implying second-half spending of roughly $120 billion, a roughly 45% step up versus the Street's $82 billion estimate.

Borges flagged Copilot momentum as another constructive signal, with Microsoft disclosing 20 million Copilot seats, representing the fastest net additions quarter over quarter since the product's launch.

Goldman also pointed to internal silicon efficiency gains, including a 67% improvement in GPU efficiency for transcription and up to a 260% improvement for image generation.

"We are constructive on Microsoft's positioning in the AI ecosystem and see a catalyst-rich path in 2H," Borges wrote. "We see this quarter as a meaningful first step in reversing the stock's multi-quarter period of underperformance."