The company's image has been further negatively impacted by news that Microsoft founder Bill Gates' name is in a file linked to convicted human trafficking and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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Microsoft, which surpassed Apple to become the world's most valuable company in early 2024, has been under constant pressure for several weeks. Last Thursday, the company lost about $400 billion in a single day.
The company's image has been further negatively impacted by the news that Microsoft founder Bill Gates' name is in a file linked to convicted human trafficking and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
After the release of the latest quarterly earnings and expenses, the growth rate of Microsoft's cloud business has been slower than expected. The company's share price has fallen as investors have become wary of increasing investment in AI infrastructure and the resulting increased costs. Against this backdrop, new documents related to Jeffrey Epstein released by the US Department of Justice have added to the negative sentiment in the market as old controversies related to the founder have come to the fore, according to Bloomberg analyst James Seyfarth.
In the earnings report released by the company, the growth rate of the 'Azure Cloud' service has been somewhat weaker than in the previous quarter. In addition, the management has indicated that high capital expenditure on AI data centers and chips will put pressure on margins in the near term. High interest rates, increasing caution among investors about the valuation of big technology and especially AI companies, and profit booking have also led to selling pressure on Microsoft and other large tech stocks. Microsoft, which had a market value of about $3.9 trillion as of October 2025, remained the world's fourth-largest company with a value of $3.1 trillion on Monday.
Meanwhile, the millions of pages of Epstein files made public by a court order repeatedly mention Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, according to US media. The documents include various calendar entries, references to conversations between other people and draft emails that Epstein himself prepared but did not send. Some of the drafts make unfounded and offensive claims about Gates' personal life, the news media reported.
Some of the draft emails even allege that Bill Gates contracted sexually transmitted diseases from Russian girls while visiting Epstein's private island. There is no evidence in the public records that the emails were sent or received by Gates. In a response to The New York Times, Gates' representatives have denied the allegations, calling them completely false. The representative said the email conversations were an attempt by Epstein to exaggerate the relationship and gain influence.
Gates has previously admitted in interviews with CNN, PBS and others that meeting and spending time with Epstein was a mistake and has expressed regret over the relationship. But despite the flight logbook, there are no photos or details that would prove Gates ever visited Epstein's island.
Other tech figures, including Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, also appeared in public filings this week, but mostly only as they appear in meeting schedules or in emails from other people. Musk claims that the documents do not prove anyone's criminal activity or involvement.
Microsoft has not commented on the Epstein files linking the stock price drop to the company's share price. Analysts say the recent decline is mainly driven by earnings, overall AI bubble pressure and market conditions, but headlines linked to high-profile individuals could affect investor sentiment in the short term. (With agency assistance)
