The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) just announced it is officially launching a probe into Microsoft’s enterprise software dominance, specifically looking at how Azure, Office, and Copilot licensing might be stifling competition. This puts the company’s recent software developments under the legal scanner that could hurt Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) stock price performance.
Microsoft President Brad Smith stated that the company will cooperate constructively with the probe. The CMA is investigating whether Microsoft’s licensing terms make it unfairly expensive for customers to use Windows Server or SQL Server on rival clouds like AWS or Google Cloud. They are also looking at how Copilot is being bundled into existing business tools. The development could lead to a knee-jerk reaction for Microsoft’s stock price prospects.
Also Read: Watcher Guru Predicts Google Stock Price Target For April 2026
Will Regulatory Scrutiny Bring Microsoft’s Stock Price Down? (MSFT)

Regulatory scrutiny is nothing new for Microsoft, and the company has faced several hurdles for decades. However, the CMA probe comes at the wrong time, when MSFT stock just recorded its worst quarter since 2008. This can be a wall of worry for investors, as it coincides with an already ‘south heading’ Microsoft stock.
Since Smith agreed to fully cooperate with the CMA probe, the voluntary concessions will likely avoid heavy fines or structural breakups. This is the exact move they took during the recent cloud egress fees, and they have been successful at it. Watcher Guru projects that the CMA probe will not impact Microsoft’s stock price prospects.
Watcher Guru’s Take on the CMA Probe

Watcher Guru concludes that Microsoft stock will not be affected by the ongoing CMA probe. The probe usually takes around 9 months to complete and is not an immediate danger to MSFT. It cannot hamper the company’s $30 billion quarterly cloud revenues, and the tech titan will be operating business as usual. This is still a great buying opportunity as it faces its worst quarter since 2008. Here’s why Watcher Guru gave a buy call for MSFT stock in March.