An analyst note flagging a possible slowdown by Microsoft in leasing for data center capacity grabbed the market's attention on Monday, lending credence to skepticism among investors worried that the AI-led stock-market boom might be overdone.

In response, Microsoft told BI it "may strategically pace or adjust our infrastructure in some areas" and would "continue to grow strongly."

Skepticism has been growing among investors over the billions of dollars U.S. tech firms have been channeling into AI infrastructure due to slow payoffs and breakthroughs at Chinese startup DeepSeek,