Evercore Plays Down Microsoft 365 Disruption Fears After Anthropic’s Claude Sheets Launch – ‘Not Yet A Substitute For Excel’

• The firm maintained its ‘Outperform’ rating on Microsoft, with a $635 price target.
• On Tuesday, Anthropic launched Claude Sheets and Whiteboards in beta.
• Claude Sheets allows users to create and edit spreadsheets using AI.

Microsoft (MSFT) was in the spotlight on Wednesday after Anthropic (ANT) launched new AI-powered productivity tools, but Evercore downplayed concerns over disruption to its Office business, saying Claude Sheets is not yet a substitute for Excel.

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However, MSFT shares were down 2.6% at the time of writing and were among the top-trending tickers on Stocktwits.

Evercore Sees 22% Upside Potential In MSFT

Evercore said that while investors’ initial concerns about competition from Anthropic were understandable, disrupting individual workplace tasks is “different from the risk of displacing Microsoft 365.”

The brokerage said the broader Office replacement narrative overlooks Microsoft’s deeply integrated enterprise software and infrastructure, with Microsoft 365 sitting beneath the applications users see.

Evercore said Claude could compete with Microsoft in how people get their work done, but “Microsoft remains deeply embedded in the infrastructure that enables it.”

The firm maintained its ‘Outperform’ rating on Microsoft, with a $635 price target. This represents a 22% upside from current levels.

Anthropic Expands AI Tools Ahead Of IPO

On Tuesday, Anthropic launched Claude Sheets and Whiteboards in beta and made Claude Data available to paid subscribers. Claude Sheets allows users to create and edit spreadsheets using AI, while Whiteboards supports collaborative planning.

Separately, Anthropic launched its IPO roadshow on Tuesday, proposing to sell 825 million shares at $70 to $78 apiece, potentially raising up to $64.35 billion.

Retail Turns ‘Bullish’ On MSFT

Despite the decline, retail sentiment surrounding MSFT on Stocktwits turned ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ over the past 24 hours.

One user said, despite the news, there’s no change in Microsoft’s fundamentals and expects the stock to climb back to $540 soon.

https://stocktwits.com/k2vin/message/668706037

MSFT shares have gained 10% so far in 2026.

Also read: SpaceX’s Starlink Sees Strong Subscriber Growth in H1 2026, But Ookla Asks Whether Network Capacity Can Keep Up With Growing Demand

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