'Premier AI Platform": Oppenheimer expects GPT-5 will be released by year end

Oppenheimer predicts OpenAI's GPT-5 release by year-end, solidifying their AI leadership. They cite GPT-4o's dominance and expect Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to capture the business AI market with integrations.

"We think GPT-5 will be released by YE and be a major improvement to further solidify OpenAI's/Microsoft's lead in generative AI," writes the firm, highlighting its potential to strengthen their dominance in the large language model (LLM) market.

Oppenheimer sees a strengthened Microsoft-OpenAI partnership. They forecast Microsoft reaching $50 billion in GenAI revenue within four years, requiring significant investment. This partnership, they believe, will propel Microsoft to surpass cloud market share gain estimates.

"The governance turmoil at OpenAI actually ended favorably for Microsoft
and has deepened the partnership between the two companies," said the firm. "We believe the two genuinely need each other, with the Microsoft/Altman duo now in effective control."

Oppenheimer highlights a growing customer focus on Microsoft's AI platform for developing custom applications. This, combined with Copilot, positions Microsoft to regain a dominant platform role in the AI market.

Their optimism extends to partners like EQIX and VRNT. Based on their bullish outlook, they've increased Microsoft's financial estimates and raised their price target to $500 per share from $450.