Microsoft Warns Investors About Local Opposition to Data Centers

A Microsoft data center under construction in Aldie, Virginia on Oct. 28.

Photographer: Lexi Critchett/Bloomberg

Microsoft Corp. is warning investors about a new risk to its expansive data center plans: local backlash.

“We also face community opposition, local moratoriums and hyper-local dissent that may impede or delay infrastructure development,” the world’s largest software maker wrote in an earnings report filing Wednesday. It was disclosed under operational risks.