Microsoft has tested Wall Street's patience by plunking down huge amounts of cash in pursuit of profits from AI that have yet to satisfy investors.

(Reuters) -Investors punished Microsoft with a 6% share drop on Thursday as hefty AI bets failed to drive a big increase in its cloud revenue, while Meta rose 4% after CEO Mark Zuckerberg assured Wall Street about growth with promises of a "really big year".

Microsoft on Wednesday forecast disappointing growth in its Azure cloud computing business, sending its shares down more than 5% as investors worry about big spending, elusive artificial intelligence revenue and growing competition from cheaper AI models from China.