Wedbush says “tariff game of poker” will dent 10% to 15% of AI projects, cuts Microsoft price target
Most tariffs might be on hold for now, but the memories of the “economic Twilight Zone” will live on in corporative executives’ nightmares, per Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.
Even as President Trump provided market relief by diluting most reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, the willingness to pursue such a course of action “has created real damage to the corporate spending mentality and as such we are cutting estimates for Microsoft's June and 2026 estimates and lowering our price target from $550 to $475,” Ives wrote, while maintaining an “outperform” rating on the stock.
The hit to sentiment from tariff turmoil will prompt management teams to buckle down and even forgo spending as much on would-be transformational AI projects.
“We estimate that 10%-15% (could be conservative) of many cloud and AI initiatives in the US we are tracking in the field could be pushed/slowed down during this period of uncertainty and Microsoft will be front and center in this economic period of uncertainty,” he wrote.
Microsoft itself has reportedly walked away from data center projects in the US and Europe, according to reports from analysts at TD Cowen.
