The market left Microsoft (MSFT +0.43%) for dead earlier this year.
In June, shares of the tech giant were trading down 30% from their all-time highs, and over the last three years, the stock's performance has lagged the S&P 500, which has grown 76.4% to Microsoft's 53%.
But that could be changing. After a stellar earnings report, Microsoft's stock popped. And analysts at J.P. Morgan think there's more growth in store, raising their 2027 price target for Microsoft's stock from $550 per share to $625 per share. That's a 30% premium to its current price of about $480.
Could Microsoft's share really double in value, reaching $960 per share by 2030?
Yes, it could, for 2 big reasons.
Image source: Getty Images.
Reason No. 1: Microsoft is competitive where it counts, and on the sidelines where it doesn't Artificial intelligence (AI) hyperscalers like Microsoft, Amazon (AMZN -0.57%), and Google parent Alphabet (GOOG +1.05%)(GOOGL +1.22%) have been criticized for excessive AI spending. Much of that spending has been on data center infrastructure to support AI computing, but the companies have also been developing AI tools that make use of that infrastructure.
For all three companies, these include agentic AI features that can be used by developers working on their respective cloud computing platforms. These three platforms (Microsoft's Azure, Amazon's AWS, and Alphabet's Google Cloud) are in direct competition with one another, and Azure has long been in the No. 2 slot. However, all three platforms are seeing revenue and net income soar, which the companies attribute to the introduction of AI features.
In the most recent quarter, revenue from Azure and Microsoft's other cloud services increased 43% year over year. It's a good sign that Azure is posting massive growth despite stiff competition. If it can sustain that growth rate over the medium term, its Azure revenue in 2030 would be nearly 6 times what it was in 2025.
Meanwhile, Alphabet's Google Gemini chatbot is locked in fierce competition with Anthropic's Claude and OpenAI's ChatGPT. All three companies are devoting significant resources to the continuous improvement of their models. But Microsoft doesn't have to worry about that particular arms race. It owns a stake in Anthropic -- and just recorded a $3.2 billion gain from that investment in its last quarter -- but it doesn't need to spend big on a chatbot with an uncertain ROI.
Image source: Getty Images.
Reason No. 2: Copilot could be a game-changing innovation ... and it works Microsoft's AI assistant Copilot is integrated into Microsoft 365 applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Right now, Copilot doesn't really have any competition. Google has a product called Gemini Spark that can theoretically perform agentic tasks in Google Workspace apps like Google Docs and Google Sheets, but I've never been able to get it to work.
Last week, for example, I successfully and seamlessly used Copilot to create and animate multiple objects in a PowerPoint slide show. It took about three minutes to perform a task that would have taken me half an hour using other programs. This week, I tried giving the same prompt to Gemini Spark. Instead of creating the animation, Spark created a 10-slide Google Slides deck containing step-by-step instructions on how to create the animation. One slide featured the instruction, "Click the button to simulate the transition between Slide 1 and Slide 2," alongside a button that literally did nothing. Fail!
According to SQ Magazine, Microsoft 365 has nearly 345 million paid subscribers worldwide. In Microsoft's latest quarterly earnings release, CEO Satya Nadella revealed that Copilot has reached over 30 million paid seats, about 9% of users. It's plausible that number could double or even triple as Microsoft 365 users start to recognize the value of Copilot's time-saving features. That would translate to at least tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue, all of which stays with the company instead of going to third parties, helping Microsoft's AI investment to pay for itself.
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Why the numbers add up J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee believes that demand for Microsoft Copilot could bring in as much as $41 billion in additional revenue all on its own, even without factoring in revenue from sales of AI credits. He also expects Azure's revenue growth to accelerate while margins stabilize, supporting further earnings growth. Meanwhile, Microsoft appears to be keeping its AI spend in check, which was a big reason the stock shot upward after its latest earnings report.
All these factors indicate that Microsoft's stock could easily double by 2030. That said, there's still a lot of uncertainty around the AI market's trajectory. But even if Microsoft doesn't quite eke out a double, its solid AI offerings and strong competitive position make it likely to be a long-term winner.
When you're investing, you should always do so with a long-term mindset. People don't always want to hear this, but it's about gradually building wealth over time, not searching for a get-rich-quick scheme. It's easier said than done, but one of the best ways to do it is to hold onto great companies for the long haul.
One of my longest holdings is Microsoft (MSFT +0.43%), which I bought just over 10 years ago. It's been a lucrative rollercoaster ride, and despite its underperformance this year, it's a stock I haven't even considered selling.
My reason? It's the tech sector's Swiss Army knife.
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Microsoft has its hands in many jars Few companies are as diversified as Microsoft, especially in the tech world. It has a strong case for being the most diversified tech company in the world, with tons of software and hardware, the world's second-largest cloud platform (Azure), Xbox, LinkedIn, and more.
Over a billion people use various Microsoft products and services, making it one of the most relied-upon tech companies in the world. That doesn't guarantee success, but it's one of the surest ways to accomplish sustained success, which Microsoft has shown us.
The number of users Microsoft has matters, but I like looking closer at how many of those users are other businesses. Microsoft is extremely important to the global business world. And when companies hit rough times, you can bet they'll cut many expenses before cutting enterprise software like Microsoft 365 (Excel, Teams, Outlook, etc.), Azure, or Windows.
Microsoft is a certified cash machine It's not all that matters in every situation, but I have always preferred cash machines. Microsoft easily checks that box.
In its fiscal year 2026 (ended June 30), it made $331.8 billion in revenue, $155.2 billion in operating income (profit from its core businesses), and $133.7 billion in net income. Year over year (YoY), those were up 18%, 21%, and 31%, respectively. Over the past decade, all three have grown impressively for a company of Microsoft's size.
MSFT Revenue (Annual) data by YCharts
The financial flexibility Microsoft has, given how much money it makes, allows it to pay dividends, buy back shares, and reinvest in the company to keep growing and keep up with the rapidly changing tech world. It has consistently done so, too.
Microsoft has increased its annual dividend for 21 straight years and spent $22.3 billion on share repurchases and $145 billion on capital expenditures in the past fiscal year.
AI spending is being put to good use There were many concerns at the beginning of this year about Microsoft's AI spending plans, but my stance was that, with as much money as Microsoft has and makes, it's better to overspend to ensure you keep up with the AI arms race than underspend and risk falling behind in what many are considering one of the most important tech revolutions since the internet.
Microsoft has spent a lot, no doubt ($41 billion in the latest quarter, up 70% YoY), but its recent earnings show a much clearer return on investment than investors may have expected earlier in the year. It's why its stock is up over 23% since reporting its latest earnings (as of Aug. 20).
Image source: The Motley Fool.
One of the best ways to measure the return on investment from AI spending is to look at cloud and Azure performance, since that's where businesses invest in AI tools. This fiscal year, Azure reached $100 billion in revenue for the first time, total Microsoft Cloud revenue increased 27% YoY to $214 billion, and its backlog grew 84% YoY to $678 billion.
How the AI boom eventually pans out remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: Microsoft's business is built to thrive with or without the AI windfall. That's why it's one of my largest holdings, and why I don't plan to sell a single Microsoft share for the foreseeable future.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) has spent the last year alongside NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) as the two poster children of the AI trade. But Microsoft has one thing Nvidia does not: a $678 billion contracted commercial backlog that turns AI demand into recurring, subscription-grade revenue.
Our 24/7 Wall St. price target for Microsoft is $590.43, and that backlog is a big reason the model sees room to run.
24/7 Wall St. Price Target Summary Metric Value Current Price $483.61 24/7 Wall St. Price Target $590.43 Upside 22.14% Recommendation BUY Confidence Level 90% Our proprietary model rates confidence high on Microsoft, with implied upside north of 22% over the next twelve months. That is a base case built on the assumption that Azure, Copilot, and the commercial backlog continue converting into revenue at the current pace.
Azure Crosses $100 Billion, and the Backlog Explodes Microsoft closed fiscal 2026 with $331 billion in annual revenue, up 18%, and Azure crossed $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time, growing 41%. Q4 revenue of $90.01 billion beat consensus, and non-GAAP EPS of $4.74 beat by 11.81%, extending the beat streak to five quarters. Commercial RPO jumped 84% to $678 billion. Microsoft 365 Copilot reached over 30 million paid seats.
Shares are up 21.2% over the past month but down 2.98% in the past week, and roughly flat year to date at 0.12%. Recent headlines about Microsoft’s Maia 300 chip targeting Nvidia’s AI dominance have added a vertical-integration narrative to the software story.
Why Bulls See a Breakout Ahead Azure guidance implies approximately 45% constant-currency growth in Q1 FY27, RPO is still growing 18% excluding OpenAI, and Copilot net seat adds more than doubled quarter over quarter.
Nadella said “I’ve never been more confident in Microsoft’s opportunity to drive durable long-term growth.” Morningstar has publicly argued the stock is worth $600. Our bull-case scenario points to $614.60.
What Could Go Wrong Full-year capex hit $115.95 billion, up 79.62%, and full-year free cash flow fell to $66.99 billion, down 6.46%. Bears flag rising OpenAI investment losses ($3.1 billion in Q1 FY26), Xbox weakness, and the fact that AI capex hinges on demand holding up.
Bulls counter that Amy Hood explicitly said Microsoft can stagger data-center build-outs and delay GPU installations if demand shifts, and operating margins were guided to decline less than a point. Our bear case lands at $507.41, above today’s price.
How Microsoft Compares to Nvidia and Alphabet Nvidia is the obvious contrast. NVDA trades at a forward P/E of 25, with quarterly revenue growth of 85.2% and a 65.6% operating margin. Microsoft’s 45.1% operating margin is lower, but its revenue is $331.8 billion versus Nvidia’s $253.5 billion, and recurring. That subscription mix is what our model rewards.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is the cheaper cloud comp at a forward P/E of 17 with a 54.8% profit margin. That makes Microsoft look expensive against GOOGL but reasonable against NVDA, and our $590.43 target sits between the two implied ranges.
Company Forward P/E Operating Margin Microsoft 24 45.1% Nvidia 25 65.6% Alphabet 17 34% Microsoft Price Prediction 2026-2030 The 24/7 Wall St. price target is $590.43, the recommendation is buy, and confidence is 90%. The tipping factor is the backlog: $678 billion in contracted commercial revenue turns AI capex into a return-on-investment question with visibility.
The bull thesis rests on Azure’s 41% growth and Copilot’s 30 million paid seats sustaining runway for several more years. The risk case centers on enterprise AI budgets compressing in 2027 and free cash flow continuing to decline.
Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $517.60 2027 $590.43 2028 $674.26 2029 $768.31 2030 $824.43 These projections assume Microsoft continues executing on Azure, Copilot, and enterprise AI monetization. Significant upside or downside could come from AI demand normalization, regulatory action, or the pace of first-party silicon adoption.
The other side of that buildout is the power, cooling, and networking suppliers feeding the data centers, which we profiled in a free report here: 7 Stocks Powering the AI Boom (That Aren’t Chipmakers).
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
The iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO +0.45%) passively tracks an index made up of U.S. companies with a history of dividend growth. However, that index, the Morningstar U.S. Dividend Growth Index, won't include a company unless it passes two strict tests:
It must have increased its dividend for at least the past five straight years. It must have a positive earnings forecast and a payout ratio below 75%. Additionally, the index excludes REITs and companies with a dividend yield in the top 10% of the dividends screened (after excluding REITs). Here's why these two strict tests matter.
Image source: Getty Images.
Shifting the dividend focus from current to future income Many of the largest and most popular dividend ETFs screen for dividend yield (e.g., SCHD and VYM). That's because their primary focus is on generating current income for investors. The iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF has a different focus. It aims to deliver dividend growth. Stocks with a high dividend payout ratio (often those with high yields) are at a greater risk of dividend reduction and underperformance. That's abundantly clear in the long-term data on companies by their dividend policies:
Dividend status
Average annual total return
Dividend Growers & Initiators
10.22%
Dividend Payers
9.20%
Equal-Weight S&P 500 Index
7.74%
No Change in Dividend Policy
6.87%
Dividend Cutters & Eliminators
-0.96%
Dividend Non-Payers
4.21%
Data source: Ned Davis Research and Hartford Funds. Note: Returns are based on S&P 500 members from 1973-2025.
The fund wants to ensure it tracks dividend growers, which is why it screens for companies with a history of growth and won't let companies with high payout levels in since they're at higher risk of maintaining their current payout, or worse, cutting or eliminating it. Those weaker companies would drag down the fund's returns and income over the long term.
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Putting the rules into practice The five-year dividend growth rule is a useful framework because these companies have demonstrated a genuine commitment to dividend growth. They have proven that they aren't just increasing their dividends when conditions allow, but have built a durable business that can deliver a sustainable, growing income stream to investors. It also screens out companies that don't have a proven dividend growth track record, such as those that just started paying dividends or had paused growth and recently resumed.
For example, the fund's top holding, Microsoft (MSFT +0.43%), has increased its dividend every year for more than two decades. That's a proven record of dividend durability and growth.
Meanwhile, the 75% or less dividend payout rule helps ensure dividend stability. It shows that the company is generating enough cash to cover its current payment while retaining some earnings to fund growth. It also gives the company a cushion to continue growing its dividend if it hits a rough patch.
Many of its holdings are well below that benchmark. For example, Microsoft generated nearly $183 billion in cash from operations during its 2026 fiscal year. That easily covered the $26.4 billion it paid in dividends. Microsoft's 14% payout ratio leaves it lots of room to grow.
Grow your dividend income with DGRO DGRO tracks an index with two strict tests for dividend stocks that help ensure its holdings can sustain and grow their dividend payments. While it yields less than other dividend funds (less than 2% over the last 12 months), the dividend should grow over time. That growth should also enhance the fund's total return, which has averaged 12.2% annualized since its inception in 2014.
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of MSFT either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
, the enterprise-software, cloud and artificial-intelligence heavyweight, rose approximately 0.5% to $483.56 Friday afternoon as mega-cap technology stocks clawed back ground. The rebound was hardly explosive. The 30-year Treasury yield remained near a 19-year high, forcing investors to demand more from companies priced for years of future growth.
Microsoft is delivering. Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue surged 18% to $90 billion, Azure revenue rocketed 43% and commercial remaining performance obligations exploded 84% to $678 billion. Free cash flow hit $19.6 billion and beat expectations, but it still dropped 23% year over year. The AI machine is growing fast. It is also devouring cash.
That $678 billion backlog is Microsoft's weapon. The company already has the demand; now it must build enough computing capacity to collect the money. Higher yields punish distant profits, but Microsoft can bankroll the expansion internally while weaker rivals reach for expensive debt. The valuation picture adds another twist: the shares trade 16.32% below their $577.84 GF Value™, suggesting Wall Street sees the spending surge but may be underpricing the cash still waiting in the pipeline.
Cboe data shows mixed options sentiment in Microsoft (MSFT), with shares up $2.65, or 0.55%, near $483.80. Options volume relatively light with 298k contracts traded and calls leading puts for a put/call ratio of 0.49, compared to a typical level near 0.58. Implied volatility (IV30) dropped 0.6 near 25.56,and below the 52wk median, suggesting an expected daily move of $7.79. Put-call skew flattened, suggesting a modestly bullish tone.
Microsoft (MSFT +0.40%) has had an interesting 2026. It started off the year on a poor note, dropping after it reported results for its fiscal 2026 second quarter (which ended Dec. 31). After further ups and downs through the year, it took the delivery of strong fiscal Q4 results on July 29 to get the stock to rally convincingly, but it's now basically back to flat for the year. With the S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.53%) up by more than 12% so far, Microsoft has been a poor investment in 2026.
However, is now the perfect time to load up on shares before an even bigger rally can occur? Let's take a look and see if Microsoft is worth buying below the $500 per share threshold.
Image source: Getty Images.
Microsoft is trading at a lower-than-usual forward P/E Microsoft is one of the major players in the AI realm, and it's profiting from the trend in several ways. The first way is through its Copilot tool, which incorporates AI features into all of its software products. Copilot now has 30 million paid seats -- a figure that will likely continue rising as the tool becomes more popular.
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Another way Microsoft is thriving from the AI build-out is via its cloud computing division, Azure. Azure is one of the largest cloud computing providers in the world, and makes money by building out computing capacity, then renting it out to various clients. Azure's revenue grew at a 43% pace last quarter, making it Microsoft's fastest-growing division.
But does all of this add up to a stock that's worth buying now?
If you look at how Microsoft has been valued on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio basis, it's not as cheap today as it was prior to the fiscal Q4 report. However, it's still cheaper than it has been over most of the past two years.
MSFT PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts
This makes the stock look like a somewhat good deal, but is it better than its peers? I'd argue that it's not.
Microsoft is trading at a more expensive premium than Nvidia (NVDA -0.86%), Alphabet (GOOG +1.40%) (GOOGL +1.46%), or Amazon (AMZN -0.17%), yet it's growing at a slower pace than any of them.
MSFT PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts
From a growth standpoint, everyone is chasing Nvidia, but Microsoft still lags behind Amazon and Alphabet.
MSFT Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts.
So, is Microsoft a bad investment? I don't think so. I think it's reasonably valued right now. However, there are better deals available in the market, and I think investors would be better advised to move their money into those other three tech stocks, as they all have far more upside potential than Microsoft.
Keithen Drury has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Apple (AAPL) paid Ireland $17 billion in taxes last year, or 40% of its $43 billion worldwide corporate income tax bill, according to the Financial Times. The f
Investors looking for stocks in the Computer - Software sector might want to consider either Progress Software (PRGS) or Microsoft (MSFT). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks?
Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT stock surged roughly 30% in the three weeks following its Q4 report for fiscal year 2026 (FY2026).
That made it one of the biggest winners of the tech earnings season. It also reversed a sell-off that had felt overdone.
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However, MSFT just gave back part of its August rally. Shares are down nearly 8% from a recent high near $520.
For anyone who watched the stock rip from $440 to $520 in three weeks and felt like the train had left the station, this dip reads like an opportunity.
Microsoft Stock's Pullback Looks Worse Than the BusinessPrice action drives headlines faster than earnings reports. That's the perception-versus-fundamentals gap in action. Microsoft stock has pulled back sharply from its all-time closing high near $538, and the recent slide from around $520 adds a fresh layer of anxiety for anyone who bought the August breakout.
But a pullback in a stock and a pullback in the underlying business are two different animals. Right now, only one of them is actually happening.
Microsoft's Q4 FY2026 results gave bulls almost everything they could ask for. Revenue hit $90 billion, up 18% year-over-year, while Azure crossed $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time. Contracted backlog reached $678 billion, giving investors more visibility into future AI spending than most rivals can offer. Azure itself grew 43% in the quarter, and Microsoft 365 Copilot passed 30 million paid seats.
That backlog number is perhaps the most important. It jumped by roughly $51 billion in a single quarter. It represents signed revenue waiting to convert. Companies don't commit $190 billion to capital expenditures (CapEx) on hope.
Management has repeatedly said demand for AI-enabled cloud capacity is outrunning what the company can currently supply. A company that's supply-constrained on its fastest-growing product isn't the one investors should worry about.
Microsoft's AI Spending Is a Hyperscaler-Wide ConcernFree cash flow has compressed as Microsoft plows record sums into GPUs and data centers, and that's the number bears keep circling. It's a legitimate line to watch. But it isn't unique to Microsoft.
Every hyperscaler is running the same playbook. Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOGL, Amazon NASDAQ: AMZN, and Meta Platforms NASDAQ: META have all raised their own 2026 capital spending guidance in recent months.
The credit market noise adds to the confusion. Hyperscalers, including Microsoft, have more than doubled their collective debt load over the past year to fund the buildout. Bond investors are paying closer attention, and demand for hyperscaler bonds has thinned somewhat from earlier in the year.
But analysts covering this debt are largely consistent on one point: these companies aren't in financial distress. The financing is simply moving further off-balance sheet, into private credit and leasing structures that are harder for the average investor to see. That's a sector-wide question worth monitoring over the next several years. But it says nothing specific about whether Microsoft's core Azure business is healthy today.
MSFT Chart Shows a Constructive SetupZoom out on the chart, and the sell-off looks less like a breakdown and more like digestion after a violent recovery. Microsoft's 50-day moving average sits at $418.11, still below the 200-day at $431.48, but the gap has narrowed sharply since the stock's April lows near $345.
If the 50-day continues climbing at its current pace, a golden cross — the 50-day crossing above the 200-day—is a realistic setup over the coming weeks. That crossover doesn't guarantee anything on its own, but it typically confirms an intermediate-term trend shift rather than just a headline price bounce.
Just as important, this week's pullback found support right around the $480 level, which had acted as resistance in June and July. Old resistance becoming new support is a classic technical tell that the breakout above it was rooted in real demand.
Microsoft's Pullback Could Give Investors a Second ChanceInvestors who sat out Microsoft's April-to-August recovery watched the stock nearly double off its lows and understandably felt like they'd missed the move. A stock that runs hard without you creates a very human urge to wait for the next dip, only to talk yourself out of buying it when it shows up, because the headlines during the dip sound worse than the ones during the run.
This week is that dip. The business didn't get worse between last Thursday and today. Azure demand still exceeds supply. The backlog is still growing faster than the stock can price it in. The CapEx concerns are real, but they belong to the entire hyperscaler cohort, not to Microsoft alone.
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Robotics and automation are rapidly becoming essential infrastructure across healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, and many other industries.
"Physical AI" is coming to the United States, and there are four ways that investors can gain exposure to this new robotics revolution. Plus, learn which seven companies are most positioned to benefit as intelligent robots enter the workforce.
Microsoft shareholders just cashed a bigger check. On August 20, 2026, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) went ex-dividend at $0.91 per share, up from $0.83 a year earlier. At $481.15, that annualizes to a yield south of 1%. It is the sort of raise long-term holders have come to expect. What is unusual is what sits on the other side of the ledger.
Dividend Raise Collides With a $115.9 Billion Buildout [chart:MSFT]
For the fiscal year ended June 30, Microsoft spent $115.948 billion on capital expenditures, a 79.62% jump aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure. Net income rose 31.34% to $133.749 billion. Free cash flow, however, fell 6.46% to $66.987 billion. Microsoft returned $26.445 billion in dividends and repurchased $22.271 billion in stock. In fiscal 2025, capex was $64.551 billion against $24.082 billion in dividends. Capex is now growing roughly eight times faster than the payout.
Fiscal Q4 alone captures the strain: $35.802 billion of capex, up 109.63%, with quarterly free cash flow down 23.19% to $19.639 billion.
What Shareholders Actually Received The tangible returns are real. Azure surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, up 41%. Microsoft 365 Copilot reached over 30 million paid seats. Commercial remaining performance obligations hit $678 billion, up 84%, a backlog that dwarfs annual revenue. CEO Satya Nadella framed the payoff: “This year, Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time, and Microsoft 365 Copilot reached over 30 million paid seats.”
Price action tells a more ambivalent story. MSFT is down 3.91% over the past year from $500.75, though it has snapped back 21.2% in the past month off a July low of $397. Year to date, shares are essentially flat at 0.12%. The forward P/E of 24 and analyst target of $569.56 suggest Wall Street still believes, with 40 buy ratings and 14 strong buys against three holds.
Peer Context and the September Test For scale, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) spent $91.447 billion on capex and paid $10.049 billion in dividends in calendar 2025. Microsoft outspent that and returned more than double the cash. All of that spending has to be powered, cooled, and networked by somebody, and we pulled together seven suppliers riding the buildout in a free AI infrastructure report.
CFO Amy Hood signaled the intensity will not ease. She told analysts the calendar 2026 outlook, adjusted for a lease-accounting shift, moves to approximately $175 billion, adding: “We expect FY27 capital expenditures will grow year over year, given demand signals across our portfolio,” and “We expect to remain free cash flow positive in FY27.”
Microsoft has historically declared its annual dividend increase in September. The September 15, 2025 declaration lifted the quarterly rate to $0.91. The next raise announcement is weeks away, and it will be the clearest signal yet of whether the AI buildout is squeezing the payout, or whether Nadella can keep funding both.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Former Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) miners pivoting into AI infrastructure are moving Friday morning after a landmark acceptance milestone. IREN (NASDAQ:IREN) stock rallied 6% to $45.26 after Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) formally accepted Horizon 1, the first of four data centers being built for the hyperscaler at IREN’s Childress, Texas campus. However, within the first hour of trading, IREN stock was back to unchanged at $42.54.
Meanwhile, TeraWulf (NASDAQ:WULF) shares advanced 1% to $16.61. Cipher Digital (NASDAQ:CIFR) stock diverged, falling 5% to $16.35.
Microsoft stock is essentially unchanged at $481.27, and NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares are flat at $216.96. The Global X Data Center and Digital Infrastructure ETF (NASDAQ:DTCR) trades at $28.47, unchanged for the day.
Microsoft Signs Off on Horizon 1 IREN announced that Horizon 1, the first of four data centers it’s building for Microsoft, has been delivered and formally accepted. Microsoft had a five-day window to test the deployment against agreed standards, and once it signed off, IREN was cleared to begin sending monthly invoices.
This marks the first billable revenue under a five-year, $9.7 billion contract, moving the deal from paper commitment to invoiced dollars. Separately, NVIDIA tested the site running its GB300 systems and granted Exemplar Cloud status, a certification reserved for providers that meet NVIDIA’s performance and reliability bar.
Financing Weight Lifts on IREN The bear case on IREN has centered on financing the AI buildout, which costs many times current revenue. Today’s acceptance starts to answer that concern. IREN has lined up a $3.65 billion debt package backed by the Microsoft contract, rated investment grade, covering almost all of the GPU spending tied to the deal.
Before that financing, IREN carried net debt of roughly $1.75 billion. On top of the Microsoft deal, IREN also holds a separate five-year, $3.4 billion cloud agreement with NVIDIA. More than a quarter of IREN’s shares are still sold short, and much of that position assumes the AI pivot fails or the debt load overwhelms the company.
In its most recent quarterly release, IREN reported total revenue of $144.8 million, down 22% sequentially, and a loss of $0.30 per share against a consensus loss of $0.21. IREN’s AI cloud services revenue rose 94% sequentially while Bitcoin mining revenue fell sharply. With a market cap of $16.17 billion, IREN controls five gigawatts of secured power globally and recently acquired Mirantis, a cloud infrastructure software and services provider.
Peers Rise on Read-Across TeraWulf operates the Lake Mariner campus in New York with 102 MW of revenue-generating critical IT capacity and 336 MW under construction. The company has roughly 839 MW of contracted critical IT capacity under long-term leases with customers including Anthropic, Fluidstack, and Core42, across a pipeline of about 2.1 GW (we profiled seven of the power, cooling, and networking suppliers behind this buildout in a free AI infrastructure report). Today’s rise reflects read-across from IREN, which explains the smaller move.
Cipher Mining has 700 MW of contracted gross HPC capacity across its Black Pearl, Barber Lake, and Stingray campuses, representing roughly $11.4 billion in contracted revenue, and is targeting about 5.3 GW of portfolio capacity by 2030. Of the three names, Cipher Mining shares moved least today because that contracted capacity is already disclosed and no new milestone landed.
Materiality Split Between the Two Sides Microsoft and NVIDIA are the counterparties that validated IREN today, and both stocks are essentially unchanged. The same contract that’s transformative for a $16.17 billion company is immaterial to the two firms on the other side of it, which carry market caps of $3.58 trillion and $5.24 trillion respectively.
Global X Data Center and Digital Infrastructure ETF is a narrow thematic fund concentrated in data center and digital infrastructure names, so it carries sector-concentration risk well above a broad technology fund. Top holdings include Equinix, Digital Realty Trust, and American Tower, giving the fund different sensitivity than the pure AI-infrastructure names moving today.
What Investors Can Watch Next Bernstein’s Gautam Chhugani reiterated a Buy rating with a $100 price target on IREN stock, and Needham’s John Todaro maintained a Hold. Across 15 covering analysts, the consensus is Moderate Buy, with 11 Strong Buy ratings, three Hold, and one Strong Sell, alongside a mean price target of $78.64.
Investors can watch for follow-on analyst commentary on IREN’s Horizon 1 revenue ramp timing, with Microsoft revenue expected to begin ramping in Q3 FY2026. Position sizing should reflect the elevated beta of 4.302 and heavy short interest in these names as today’s gains and losses face the test of the closing bell.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,478 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,725 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 1.0% of Baron Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Baron Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Microsoft Trading Down 0.7% Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $481.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $417.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $408.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current year. Microsoft Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $560.27.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Microsoft
Insider Activity at Microsoft In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure demand remains a major support. Microsoft’s reported $678 billion backlog of contracted cloud commitments provides visibility for future revenue and helps defend the company’s aggressive AI infrastructure spending. Microsoft Stock Rises as $678 Billion Backlog Supports AI Spending Positive Sentiment: Meta is becoming a significant Azure AI customer. Meta reportedly spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually on Azure and consumes large volumes of AI tokens, reinforcing demand for Microsoft’s cloud and AI services. Meta Platforms Emerges as a Major Microsoft Azure AI Client Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues investing in AI capabilities. The company is increasing fiscal 2027 capital expenditures to expand infrastructure, while internally developed AI chips could improve efficiency and margins over time. Its latest quarterly results also showed strong earnings and 17.7% year-over-year revenue growth. Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is hiring AI-capable legal talent and reportedly offering compensation of up to $279,000 for a legal engineer. The move highlights the company’s effort to integrate AI into commercial and compliance operations but is unlikely to materially affect near-term results. Microsoft Will Pay Up to $279K for a Lawyer Who Can Build AI Negative Sentiment: Higher yields are pressuring long-duration AI valuations. Rising interest rates reduce the present value of projected future AI profits, contributing to market questions despite Microsoft’s backlog and operating strength. Microsoft Slips as 4.68% Yield Tests Its $678 Billion Backlog Negative Sentiment: Technology stocks broadly declined Thursday afternoon, adding sector-driven pressure to MSFT. Investors are also monitoring concerns that large AI companies buying services from one another could create circular demand signals. Negative Sentiment: Microsoft faces geopolitical and execution risks. China is accelerating its move away from Windows, while continued AI capital spending raises questions about returns on investment. Recent insider activity also shows executive selling without reported purchases, a modest negative sentiment signal. About Microsoft (Free Report)
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.
Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).
See Also Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Energy Stocks Raising Dividends as the Sector Surges 5 Reasons the S&P 500 Could Keep Rallying Through Year-End Walmart’s Post-Earnings Drop Could Be a Buying Opportunity The Trade Desk’s Earnings Miss Raises a Bigger Question About Its AI Future
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BDF Gestion cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 12.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 131,497 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 19,315 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 6.1% of BDF Gestion’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. BDF Gestion’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $49,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Microsoft Price Performance Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $481.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $417.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $408.78. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year. Microsoft Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.
More Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure demand remains a major support. Microsoft’s reported $678 billion backlog of contracted cloud commitments provides visibility for future revenue and helps defend the company’s aggressive AI infrastructure spending. Microsoft Stock Rises as $678 Billion Backlog Supports AI Spending Positive Sentiment: Meta is becoming a significant Azure AI customer. Meta reportedly spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually on Azure and consumes large volumes of AI tokens, reinforcing demand for Microsoft’s cloud and AI services. Meta Platforms Emerges as a Major Microsoft Azure AI Client Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues investing in AI capabilities. The company is increasing fiscal 2027 capital expenditures to expand infrastructure, while internally developed AI chips could improve efficiency and margins over time. Its latest quarterly results also showed strong earnings and 17.7% year-over-year revenue growth. Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is hiring AI-capable legal talent and reportedly offering compensation of up to $279,000 for a legal engineer. The move highlights the company’s effort to integrate AI into commercial and compliance operations but is unlikely to materially affect near-term results. Microsoft Will Pay Up to $279K for a Lawyer Who Can Build AI Negative Sentiment: Higher yields are pressuring long-duration AI valuations. Rising interest rates reduce the present value of projected future AI profits, contributing to market questions despite Microsoft’s backlog and operating strength. Microsoft Slips as 4.68% Yield Tests Its $678 Billion Backlog Negative Sentiment: Technology stocks broadly declined Thursday afternoon, adding sector-driven pressure to MSFT. Investors are also monitoring concerns that large AI companies buying services from one another could create circular demand signals. Negative Sentiment: Microsoft faces geopolitical and execution risks. China is accelerating its move away from Windows, while continued AI capital spending raises questions about returns on investment. Recent insider activity also shows executive selling without reported purchases, a modest negative sentiment signal. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HSBC lowered their price target on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 target price on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.27.
Read Our Latest Report on MSFT
Insider Activity at Microsoft In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Profile (Free Report)
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.
Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).
Featured Stories Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Energy Stocks Raising Dividends as the Sector Surges 5 Reasons the S&P 500 Could Keep Rallying Through Year-End Walmart’s Post-Earnings Drop Could Be a Buying Opportunity The Trade Desk’s Earnings Miss Raises a Bigger Question About Its AI Future
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Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 78,873 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $29,421,000. Microsoft accounts for about 2.5% of Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.
Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Trending Headlines about Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure demand remains a major support. Microsoft’s reported $678 billion backlog of contracted cloud commitments provides visibility for future revenue and helps defend the company’s aggressive AI infrastructure spending. Microsoft Stock Rises as $678 Billion Backlog Supports AI Spending Positive Sentiment: Meta is becoming a significant Azure AI customer. Meta reportedly spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually on Azure and consumes large volumes of AI tokens, reinforcing demand for Microsoft’s cloud and AI services. Meta Platforms Emerges as a Major Microsoft Azure AI Client Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues investing in AI capabilities. The company is increasing fiscal 2027 capital expenditures to expand infrastructure, while internally developed AI chips could improve efficiency and margins over time. Its latest quarterly results also showed strong earnings and 17.7% year-over-year revenue growth. Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is hiring AI-capable legal talent and reportedly offering compensation of up to $279,000 for a legal engineer. The move highlights the company’s effort to integrate AI into commercial and compliance operations but is unlikely to materially affect near-term results. Microsoft Will Pay Up to $279K for a Lawyer Who Can Build AI Negative Sentiment: Higher yields are pressuring long-duration AI valuations. Rising interest rates reduce the present value of projected future AI profits, contributing to market questions despite Microsoft’s backlog and operating strength. Microsoft Slips as 4.68% Yield Tests Its $678 Billion Backlog Negative Sentiment: Technology stocks broadly declined Thursday afternoon, adding sector-driven pressure to MSFT. Investors are also monitoring concerns that large AI companies buying services from one another could create circular demand signals. Negative Sentiment: Microsoft faces geopolitical and execution risks. China is accelerating its move away from Windows, while continued AI capital spending raises questions about returns on investment. Recent insider activity also shows executive selling without reported purchases, a modest negative sentiment signal. Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore set a $528.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.27.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft
Microsoft Trading Down 0.7% NASDAQ MSFT opened at $481.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $417.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $408.78. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.
Microsoft Profile (Free Report)
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.
Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).
Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Energy Stocks Raising Dividends as the Sector Surges 5 Reasons the S&P 500 Could Keep Rallying Through Year-End Walmart’s Post-Earnings Drop Could Be a Buying Opportunity The Trade Desk’s Earnings Miss Raises a Bigger Question About Its AI Future Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).
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Although earnings season helps investors understand the nuts and bolts of what makes businesses tick, the quarterly filing of Form 13Fs can be equally important. A 13F provides investors with a concise snapshot of the stocks Wall Street's savviest money managers purchased and sold in the latest quarter (in this case, the second quarter).
On Aug. 14, thousands of financial institutions and asset managers, including some very well-known billionaire investors, filed their 13Fs with regulators. I analyzed the top four holdings for 17 prominent billionaire money managers and found three stocks that just kept showing up: Alphabet (GOOGL -1.18%)(GOOG -1.02%), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM +0.95%), and Amazon (AMZN -2.15%).
Image source: Getty Images.
Alphabet It should come as no surprise that Google parent Alphabet is a leading common denominator among billionaire investors. It's a top-four holding for five billionaires, including:
Tiger Global's Chase Coleman Appaloosa's David Tepper Baupost Group's Seth Klarman Third Point's Dan Loeb The now-retired Warren Buffett, who initiated Berkshire Hathaway's position in Alphabet Alphabet possesses well-defined competitive advantages in the advertising arena. It holds a virtual monopoly on global internet search traffic and owns streaming platform YouTube, the second-most-visited social site on the planet.
-- Qualtrim (@qualtrim) August 17, 2026 But it's Alphabet's cloud infrastructure services platform, Google Cloud, and its artificial intelligence (AI) ties that have billionaires excited. Since integrating generative AI and large language model solutions into Google Cloud, sales growth in this high-margin segment has gone parabolic (82% from the previous year in the second quarter).
Taiwan Semiconductor Another common denominator among billionaire fund managers is chip-fabrication giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (also known as "TSMC"). It was a top-four position for five billionaires at the end of June, including:
Duquesne Family Office's Stanley Druckenmiller Viking Global's Ole Andreas Halvorsen Coatue Management's Philippe Laffont Appaloosa's David Tepper Tiger Global's Chase Coleman TSMC is the largest position for Laffont and Coleman.
Today's Change
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3.91
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$
416.00
The beauty of TSMC is that it's ideally positioned to benefit from the evolution of AI. As of September 2025, it controlled 72% of global chip contract manufacturing and is enjoying exceptional pricing power as demand for graphics processing units far outpaces supply. Its chip-fabrication services are essential to the AI data center build-out.
While advanced chips make up the lion's share of Taiwan Semi's growth, it also manufactures central processing units, as well as chips for smartphones and automobiles.
Image source: Amazon.
Amazon The third and final stock that kept popping up as a core holding among Wall Street's brightest billionaire asset managers is dual-industry leader Amazon. As of June 30, it was a top-four position for five billionaires, including:
Appaloosa's David Tepper Tiger Global's Chase Coleman Baupost Group's Seth Klarman Third Point's Dan Loeb Pershing Square's Bill Ackman Amazon is the largest holding for both Tepper and Klarman.
Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO on AWS:
2026 capacity: sold out
2027 capacity: sold out
2028: already filling
Amazon AWS backlog is at all-time highs.$AMZN pic.twitter.com/RZIw5eSKuo
-- Qualtrim (@qualtrim) August 16, 2026 While most investors are aware of Amazon's online marketplace dominance, they might not realize that Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world's leading cloud infrastructure services platform by total spend. Since Amazon integrated AI solutions into AWS, its sales growth has also reaccelerated. AWS is pacing nearly $169 billion in annual run rate sales.
As AWS grows into a larger percentage of Amazon's net sales, its operating cash flow should increase considerably faster than its revenue. According to Wall Street's consensus, Amazon can more than double its annual cash flow per share between 2025 and 2028.
Sean Williams has positions in Alphabet and Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Bill Ackman is one of the world's most renowned investors. The billionaire hedge fund manager runs a very concentrated portfolio of fewer than 15 stocks, so when he makes moves, investors take notice. While he added new positions in credit card networks Visa and Mastercard, financial intelligence company S&P Global, and video streamer Netflix, those weren't his only notable moves.
During the quarter, he made some big moves with stocks of hyperscalers (owners of large data centers). Ackman finished selling off his remaining small Alphabet (GOOGL -1.18%) (GOOG -1.02%) stake, while slashing his position in Amazon (AMZN -2.15%) by 25%. He also added to his positions in Microsoft (MSFT -0.47%) and Meta Platforms (META -0.04%).
Let's take a closer look at these hyperscaler stocks to see if investors should follow suit.
Microsoft
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-2.25
Current Price
$
481.15
Microsoft is Ackman's third-largest holding, and he upped his position by nearly 10% in the second quarter. It's easy to see why the legendary investor likes the stock. Even after a recent jump, the stock has done very little over the past year despite continued strong operational performance.
The worry is that AI will disrupt its core software business, while some investors have questioned the economics of AI-focused cloud computing in general and Microsoft's heavy ties to OpenAI. However, Microsoft's software is deeply embedded in enterprises, and the increasing adoption of its AI copilots shows that the company is becoming an AI winner.
Meanwhile, its Azure cloud computing unit continues to put up outstanding growth and has a huge backlog. This is a stock to own for the long term.
Meta Platforms
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Current Price
$
545.83
Meta is a top growth stock trading at a very attractive valuation, with a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) of just 15 times 2027 analyst estimates. While investors have frowned at its AI infrastructure spending, few companies have been as good at employing AI to drive growth in their core business as Meta.
Ackman likes the company for its great flywheel business, where continued AI improvements to its algorithms lead to users staying on its apps longer and advertisers being better able to connect with them. This is leading to both increasing ad impressions and increasing prices, which is driving strong growth for the company. Meanwhile, Meta has started to make some impressive strides with the release of its recent AI models.
This is a stock to buy while it remains cheap.
Amazon
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While Ackman cut his stake in Amazon by a quarter, it remains his fifth-largest position. However, this is not a stock I'd personally be looking to trim. The company is currently firing on all cylinders, and the stock remains relatively cheap both from a historical standpoint and compared to some of its brick-and-mortar retail peers, like Costco Wholesale and Walmart.
The company's e-commerce business just continues to deliver solid revenue growth. More impressively, it's seeing tremendous operating leverage from its internal investments in AI and robotics, as well as its high-margin sponsored ad business. At the same time, its cloud computing business is seeing accelerating revenue growth, backed by partnerships with Anthropic and OpenAI. Amazon is spending aggressively to increase capacity, and its custom chip business helps give it a cost advantage.
The company is getting a strong locked-in return on these investments, and management thinks Amazon Web Services can become a $1 trillion revenue business in the future. This is a stock I'd continue to buy at current levels.
Image source: Getty Images.
Alphabet After he cut most of his position in the first quarter, it was not surprising to see Ackman completely exit Alphabet in Q2. However, this is a stock I really like.
The company is the most complete AI player, and it has several big advantages. This includes its custom Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), which are the most powerful custom AI chips out there, giving it a big cost advantage for inference and training its AI models. It also has a huge distribution edge through its ownership of Chrome, Android, and its search revenue-sharing deal with Apple, while its powerful global ad network is helping it monetize AI better with consumers than most AI model companies.
Alphabet is well-positioned to be an AI leader over the long haul, and it's a stock I'd want to continue to own.
Geoffrey Seiler has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Costco Wholesale, Mastercard, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix, S&P Global, Visa, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Meta has quietly become one of Microsoft's largest AI customers, spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year to access the Azure cloud service - and reviving concerns around circular business dealings in the AI space. Bloomberg's Brody Ford joins Ed Ludlow on "Bloomberg Tech.
For new and old investors, taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals. Zacks Premium provides lots of different ways to do both.
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Each stock is given an alphabetic rating of A, B, C, D or F based on their value, growth, and momentum qualities. With this system, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on, meaning the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.
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Value ScoreValue investors love finding good stocks at good prices, especially before the broader market catches on to a stock's true value. Utilizing ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and many other multiples, the Value Style Score identifies the most attractive and most discounted stocks.
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To maximize your returns, you want to buy stocks with the highest probability of success. This means picking stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B. If you find yourself looking at stocks with a #3 (Hold) rank, make sure they have Scores of A or B as well to ensure as much upside potential as possible.
The direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should always be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy, since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank.
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Stock to Watch: Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) Redmond, WA-based Microsoft Corporation is one of the largest broad-based technology providers in the world. The company holds the leading position in the PC software market with its Windows operating system.
MSFT is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.
Additionally, the company could be a top pick for growth investors. MSFT has a Growth Style Score of B, forecasting year-over-year earnings growth of 9.1% for the current fiscal year.
13 analysts revised their earnings estimate higher in the last 60 days for fiscal 2027, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.32 to $19.59 per share. MSFT also boasts an average earnings surprise of +9.3%.
With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Growth and VGM Style Scores, MSFT should be on investors' short list.
Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.
McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.
His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.
A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.
TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.
McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.
Meta Platforms Inc. (META, Financials), the social media giant, Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL, Financials), the parent company of Google, and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT, Fina
Social media giant Meta Platforms Inc. (META, Financials) has quietly become one of Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT, Financials) largest AI customers, Bloomberg reporte
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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images Microsoft appears to want to put its legal department on AI steroids.
The company is seeking a principal legal engineer to help shape how its lawyers use artificial intelligence. The hire will build agents, sharpen prompts, and train attorneys in Microsoft's Customer & Partner Solutions group, which supports the company's commercial business, according to a job description posted on LinkedIn this week.
A Microsoft spokesperson did not respond to a request to comment.
For decades, lawyers were the corporate world's tech holdouts, wary of tools that could get even a single detail wrong. Artificial intelligence is starting to change that. Clients are pushing law firms to use tools such as Harvey and Claude for Legal to get work done faster and, ideally, charge less for it.
That same pressure is moving in-house. Legal teams are betting that software can help them edit contracts and write policies, allowing them to do more early work themselves and send outside counsel matters that are further along. That could shrink their legal bills.
Microsoft is betting big on AI. Company insiders have serious doubts.
Microsoft could want someone on the inside steering that effort.
"This is a role for a builder. You will ship real capability rather than advise from the sidelines, partner directly with engineering, and stay close enough to attorneys and paralegals to design with them rather than for them," the company wrote in the job description.
Microsoft has the advantage of building some of these tools itself. In a blog post, the company said its lawyers use Copilot, its flagship assistant, to speed up routine work. One use case is contract review. Copilot can compare a draft with similar agreements, flag issues, and suggest edits that fit with the company's policies, the company wrote.
Microsoft has also begun rolling out Harvey across Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs, its broader legal organization.
Microsoft's job posting is one of the clearest signs yet that the legal engineer role is catching on inside corporate legal departments.
The job has already come into vogue at startups selling software to law firms. Legal engineers tend to be former lawyers with technical chops. They sit close to customers and help shape the company's software around the way lawyers actually work.
Last month, Palantir also posted a job description for an embedded legal engineer. The hire will work directly with Palantir's lawyers to "transform high-touch, manual workflows into scalable, automated solutions," per the job description.
For its role, Microsoft is seeking someone with a law degree and at least seven years of experience as a practicing attorney. "Hands-on experience with AI legal tools such as Harvey or Copilot" is preferred, the company wrote. Base pay ranges from $147,000 to $278,900 a year.
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Melia Robinson You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Melia Robinson is a reporter at Business Insider covering how lawyers are changing the way they work and bill in the age of artificial intelligence — and about the tech companies racing to serve them.Melia first joined Business Insider in 2013. She lives in New York City.
Tim Cook and Satya Nadella are two of the most-watched CEOs in the world, running two of the largest and most important companies in the world (Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)).
And while plenty of people judge CEOs based on “the vibes” – which, Nadella all the way – I prefer to look at the actual operational metrics they can impact.
Let’s dive in.
What counts Metric Cook / Apple Nadella / Microsoft Return on invested capital 53.3% 22.0% Return on equity 171.4% 34.0% Return on assets 30.9% 19.4% Operating margin 32.0% 46.8% Debt / equity 1.5x 0.3x At its core, the CEO’s job is to take capital, invest it profitably, and generate a return for shareholders. Return on invested capital (ROIC) and return on assets (ROA) measure this effectively, while return on equity (ROE) helps us see whether the CEO is smartly deploying leverage. Of course, debt/equity shows how much risk they’re incurring to generate that return. And of course, there’s good old operating margin to show how profitable the underlying business is. As you can see, Cook and Apple win big on ROIC, ROE, and ROA, while Nadella and Microsoft win on operating margin.
The most eye-catching number in the table is Cook’s return on equity. It is also the one to trust the least at face value. Years of buybacks have shrunk Apple’s equity base to a sliver relative to earnings, which mechanically pushes ROE upward. Apple repurchased $62.1B of stock in the nine months through June 27, 2026, $90.7B across fiscal 2025, and the board authorized another $100B program. The buyback effect inflates the size of Cook’s ROE lead. Nadella’s operating margin edge, meanwhile, has nothing to do with capital structure at all.
There is, of course, some more nuance to consider:
Apple’s Q3 FY26 gross margin picked up roughly 2 percentage points from tariff refunds, and shareholders’ equity rose 63.3% year over year to $107.5B, so the equity base is rebuilding from the trough. Microsoft’s recent net income is noisy for different reasons: Q4 FY26 included a $3.2B gain from its Anthropic investment, while Q2 FY26 included $7.6B in net gains from OpenAI investments. Investment mark-ups are not operating performance! (But they do tell us something about Nadella’s allocation philosophy.)
The Case For Cook Cook is running a mature consumer hardware franchise with a services flywheel bolted on, and by the returns numbers he is running it very well. Q3 FY26 revenue grew 16.4% to $109.4B with net income up 27.1% to $29.8B; iPhone contributed $54.3B and Services $30.7B. Fiscal 2025 revenue was $416.2B, up 6.4%, with net income of $112.0B, up 19.5%. The installed base has passed 2.5 billion active devices. Cook’s ROIC is the highest in the Magnificent 7. Unlike ROE, there’s no leverage on that number.
The Case For Nadella Nadella is running the largest infrastructure buildout in Microsoft’s history, and the operating line holds up anyway. Azure grew 43% in Q4 and crossed $100.0B in full-year revenue. Microsoft Cloud reached $59.3B, up 27%. Commercial remaining performance obligation climbed 84% to $678.0B. Microsoft 365 Copilot passed 30 million paid seats. Full-year revenue was $331.8B, up 17.8%, with net income of $133.7B, up 31.3%. He does it with roughly a fifth of Apple’s leverage. An operating margin of 46.8% versus 32.0% is what a well-run software-heavy mix actually looks like at the operating line.
Verdict By these measures on this date, Cook leads on three of four, including the leverage-adjusted one that matters most (ROIC), and I’ll call that the win. Cook’s 171.4% return on equity should not be read at face value, and Nadella’s operating margin advantage is cleaner than any single number in Cook’s column. It is a narrower call than the table looks. If Microsoft’s $678B backlog converts to revenue at anywhere near current cloud margins, this comparison will likely look different a year from now.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
, the enterprise-software, cloud and artificial-intelligence giant, gained approximately 0.6% to $484.30 Wednesday morning as falling Treasury yields pulled buyers back into mega-cap technology. But forget the small bounce for a second. The bigger Microsoft story is sitting underneath the stock: Azure is ripping higher, AI demand is pouring in, and customers have already committed hundreds of billions of dollars to Microsoft's ecosystem.
The numbers are huge. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90 billion, up 18%, while operating income jumped 18% to $40.6 billion. Azure and other cloud-services revenue surged 43%, annual Azure revenue blasted through $100 billion for the first time, and commercial remaining performance obligations exploded 84% to $678 billion. That $678 billion is the number that matters. Microsoft is not spending aggressively on AI infrastructure while waiting for customers to show up. A massive wave of contracted business is already waiting to become revenue.
And the valuation picture just got more interesting. Microsoft traded at $485.71 on Aug. 19 versus a GF Value™ estimate of $577.29, leaving the stock 15.86% below GF Value™. That does not automatically make Microsoft cheap, but the gap stands out when Azure is growing 43% and the commercial backlog is sitting at $678 billion. Now comes the hard part: execution. Microsoft must build enough AI capacity to feed that demand without letting data-center spending, depreciation and infrastructure costs eat away at the economics. If it can nail that equation, Wednesday's 0.6% rebound could be the least interesting number in the Microsoft story.
Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) AI franchise just did something the bears said couldn’t happen. Azure crossed $100 billion in annual revenue, Copilot passed 30 million paid seats, and commercial RPO exploded to $678 billion, up 84%.
Yet Microsoft shares are essentially flat on the year. That disconnect is why I’m asking a bigger question. Can this stock hit $700 by 2027? I think the math works, and I’ll show you exactly how.
Why Microsoft Shares Are Stuck Despite a Blowout Year The setup is strange. Microsoft just delivered FY2026 revenue of $331.8 billion, up 17.79%, with net income up 31.34%. And the stock is up 0.03% year to date and down 6.11% over one year. Shares fell 4.4% in the past week even after a 22.3% snapback over the last month.
The reason is capex. Microsoft spent $115.9 billion, up 79.62% year over year, on AI infrastructure, and FY27 guidance points to roughly $175 billion. Investors are worried about ROI. With a beta of 1.1, the stock swings when sentiment on AI monetization wobbles. Right now, it’s wobbling.
Wall Street Sees 18% Upside. Our Model Sees More The consensus is loud. 14 Strong Buys, 40 Buys, 3 Holds, 0 Sells, with an average target of $569.56. Our base case is more aggressive at $596.34, implying 23.82% upside, with a bull scenario of $620.42 and a bear floor of $511.72. Confidence sits at 90%.
My view is that Wall Street is anchoring on the capex overhang. With 95% analyst bullishness and earnings growth running at 31.7%, targets should be marching higher. Analysts are underweighting a Copilot inflection that already happened.
The Path to $700 Per Share Here is the math. Reaching $700 from today’s price of $481.63 would require a gain of 45.3%. With forward EPS of $19.96, a price of $700 implies a forward P/E of 35x. Our base case of $596.34 already implies 28x, meaning the bold target requires 7x of additional multiple expansion.
Is that achievable? I think yes, and here is why. The 247Factor of 1.154 is powered by a 1.15x technology sector multiplier and 95% bullish analyst consensus.
If Azure re-accelerates to 45% constant currency growth in Q1 FY27 and Copilot ARPU expands as the E7 suite scales (EY alone deployed 400,000 seats), FY27 EPS estimates get revised sharply higher.
Nadella said it plainly on the call: “I’ve never been more confident in Microsoft’s opportunity to drive durable long-term growth.” The primary risk is that AI capex ROI disappoints and multiple compression takes hold.
Where Microsoft Trades Today vs Its Earnings Power At $481.63, Microsoft trades at a forward P/E of roughly 24x on $19.96 in forward EPS. That is cheap for a business compounding earnings at 31%.
Shares sit well off the 52-week high of $550.24 and comfortably above the low of $349.20. Zoom out and MSFT has returned 839.53% over ten years. The problem is the narrative, not the valuation.
Is $700 Realistic? Here’s My Take Reaching $700 requires a gain of 45.3% from here. Is it realistic? It’s a stretch, but a defensible one.
Three things need to go right: Azure needs to sustain 40%+ growth into FY27, Copilot ARPU has to expand as E7 and usage-based GitHub pricing scale, and AI capex has to visibly convert into free cash flow so investors reward the multiple rather than punish it.
What derails it is a broad AI capex unwind that forces every hyperscaler multiple lower at once. Returns at this level shouldn’t be expected every year, but we’ve outlined the blueprint for how Microsoft could reach $700 in 2027.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,665 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,795 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 3.6% of Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. grew its position in Microsoft by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,735,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, China Renaissance lowered their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.27.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT Insider Transactions at Microsoft In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of MSFT opened at $481.63 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $414.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $408.06. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.
Microsoft News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure and Copilot momentum remain the primary catalysts. Azure reportedly surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, while Microsoft 365 Copilot exceeded 30 million paid seats. Those milestones reinforce the view that Microsoft is beginning to monetize its AI investments at scale. Price Prediction: One Number Could Decide How High Microsoft Goes in 2027 Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results continue to support the bull case. Microsoft’s latest report showed earnings per share of $4.74 versus a $4.24 consensus estimate and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Cloud computing and AI helped drive roughly 30% profit growth. These Telltale Signs Cue Microsoft Investors Despite Earnings Surge Positive Sentiment: Enterprise adoption and partnerships are broadening demand. Swiss companies are increasing their use of Microsoft’s AI and cloud products, with governance and data sovereignty controls supporting adoption. S&P Global also expanded its integration of AI-ready data into Microsoft 365 Copilot workflows. Swiss Enterprises Prioritize Microsoft AI Governance Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional sentiment remains constructive. William Blair reaffirmed a Buy rating, citing early AI monetization, while Altarock Partners increased its Microsoft position. Microsoft Buy Rating Reaffirmed About Microsoft (Free Report)
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.
Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).
Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Microsoft The AI Boom Is Turning This Cable Maker Into a Stock to Watch A Star Investor Just Trimmed Amazon—Here’s What It means Wendy’s Deal Buzz May Give Fast-Food Investors a New Reason to Look Home Depot Analysts See a Path to $375 and Beyond Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).
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BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 23.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 400,000 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 120,000 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 6.6% of BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $148,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 4.9% in the third quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the third quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Better Money Decisions LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,740,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insider Activity at Microsoft In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Key Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week: Positive Sentiment: Azure and Copilot momentum remain the primary catalysts. Azure reportedly surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, while Microsoft 365 Copilot exceeded 30 million paid seats. Those milestones reinforce the view that Microsoft is beginning to monetize its AI investments at scale. Price Prediction: One Number Could Decide How High Microsoft Goes in 2027 Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results continue to support the bull case. Microsoft’s latest report showed earnings per share of $4.74 versus a $4.24 consensus estimate and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Cloud computing and AI helped drive roughly 30% profit growth. These Telltale Signs Cue Microsoft Investors Despite Earnings Surge Positive Sentiment: Enterprise adoption and partnerships are broadening demand. Swiss companies are increasing their use of Microsoft’s AI and cloud products, with governance and data sovereignty controls supporting adoption. S&P Global also expanded its integration of AI-ready data into Microsoft 365 Copilot workflows. Swiss Enterprises Prioritize Microsoft AI Governance Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional sentiment remains constructive. William Blair reaffirmed a Buy rating, citing early AI monetization, while Altarock Partners increased its Microsoft position. Microsoft Buy Rating Reaffirmed Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $560.27.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft
Microsoft Trading Up 0.3% Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $481.63 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $414.21 and a 200 day moving average of $408.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.
Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.
Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).
See Also Five stocks we like better than Microsoft The AI Boom Is Turning This Cable Maker Into a Stock to Watch A Star Investor Just Trimmed Amazon—Here’s What It means Wendy’s Deal Buzz May Give Fast-Food Investors a New Reason to Look Home Depot Analysts See a Path to $375 and Beyond Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).
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Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,759 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,546 shares during the quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 410.4% in the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,735,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Argus reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group set a $525.00 target price on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.27.
Read Our Latest Report on Microsoft Microsoft Stock Up 0.3% MSFT stock opened at $481.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $414.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $408.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 20.27%.
Insider Activity In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
More Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure and Copilot momentum remain the primary catalysts. Azure reportedly surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, while Microsoft 365 Copilot exceeded 30 million paid seats. Those milestones reinforce the view that Microsoft is beginning to monetize its AI investments at scale. Price Prediction: One Number Could Decide How High Microsoft Goes in 2027 Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results continue to support the bull case. Microsoft’s latest report showed earnings per share of $4.74 versus a $4.24 consensus estimate and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Cloud computing and AI helped drive roughly 30% profit growth. These Telltale Signs Cue Microsoft Investors Despite Earnings Surge Positive Sentiment: Enterprise adoption and partnerships are broadening demand. Swiss companies are increasing their use of Microsoft’s AI and cloud products, with governance and data sovereignty controls supporting adoption. S&P Global also expanded its integration of AI-ready data into Microsoft 365 Copilot workflows. Swiss Enterprises Prioritize Microsoft AI Governance Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional sentiment remains constructive. William Blair reaffirmed a Buy rating, citing early AI monetization, while Altarock Partners increased its Microsoft position. Microsoft Buy Rating Reaffirmed Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.
Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).
Featured Stories Five stocks we like better than Microsoft The AI Boom Is Turning This Cable Maker Into a Stock to Watch A Star Investor Just Trimmed Amazon—Here’s What It means Wendy’s Deal Buzz May Give Fast-Food Investors a New Reason to Look Home Depot Analysts See a Path to $375 and Beyond Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).
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First County Bank CT increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,082 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,027 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.5% of First County Bank CT’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Noble Wealth Management PBC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC now owns 2,393 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Miller Global Investments LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 64.0% during the second quarter. Miller Global Investments LLC now owns 1,879 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its position in Microsoft by 2.7% during the second quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 70,664 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $26,359,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876 shares in the last quarter. Adelphi Trust Co lifted its stake in Microsoft by 9.3% in the second quarter. Adelphi Trust Co now owns 18,991 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,084,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cacti Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cacti Asset Management LLC now owns 11,043 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,119,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week: Positive Sentiment: Azure and Copilot momentum remain the primary catalysts. Azure reportedly surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, while Microsoft 365 Copilot exceeded 30 million paid seats. Those milestones reinforce the view that Microsoft is beginning to monetize its AI investments at scale. Price Prediction: One Number Could Decide How High Microsoft Goes in 2027 Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results continue to support the bull case. Microsoft’s latest report showed earnings per share of $4.74 versus a $4.24 consensus estimate and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Cloud computing and AI helped drive roughly 30% profit growth. These Telltale Signs Cue Microsoft Investors Despite Earnings Surge Positive Sentiment: Enterprise adoption and partnerships are broadening demand. Swiss companies are increasing their use of Microsoft’s AI and cloud products, with governance and data sovereignty controls supporting adoption. S&P Global also expanded its integration of AI-ready data into Microsoft 365 Copilot workflows. Swiss Enterprises Prioritize Microsoft AI Governance Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional sentiment remains constructive. William Blair reaffirmed a Buy rating, citing early AI monetization, while Altarock Partners increased its Microsoft position. Microsoft Buy Rating Reaffirmed Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.27.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Microsoft
Microsoft Trading Up 0.3% Shares of MSFT stock opened at $481.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $414.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $408.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.
Microsoft Profile (Free Report)
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.
Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).
Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft The AI Boom Is Turning This Cable Maker Into a Stock to Watch A Star Investor Just Trimmed Amazon—Here’s What It means Wendy’s Deal Buzz May Give Fast-Food Investors a New Reason to Look Home Depot Analysts See a Path to $375 and Beyond Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).
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Eastern Bank lowered its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 594,556 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 32,366 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.4% of Eastern Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $221,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $347,211,391,000 after buying an additional 15,955,898 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,060,557,000 after acquiring an additional 6,388,930 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $88,056,019,000 after acquiring an additional 1,911,142 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $58,624,690,000 after acquiring an additional 980,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, August 10th. New Street Research decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $560.27.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Microsoft Stock Up 0.3% MSFT opened at $481.63 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $414.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $408.06.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 20.27%.
Key Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure and Copilot momentum remain the primary catalysts. Azure reportedly surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, while Microsoft 365 Copilot exceeded 30 million paid seats. Those milestones reinforce the view that Microsoft is beginning to monetize its AI investments at scale. Price Prediction: One Number Could Decide How High Microsoft Goes in 2027 Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results continue to support the bull case. Microsoft’s latest report showed earnings per share of $4.74 versus a $4.24 consensus estimate and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Cloud computing and AI helped drive roughly 30% profit growth. These Telltale Signs Cue Microsoft Investors Despite Earnings Surge Positive Sentiment: Enterprise adoption and partnerships are broadening demand. Swiss companies are increasing their use of Microsoft’s AI and cloud products, with governance and data sovereignty controls supporting adoption. S&P Global also expanded its integration of AI-ready data into Microsoft 365 Copilot workflows. Swiss Enterprises Prioritize Microsoft AI Governance Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional sentiment remains constructive. William Blair reaffirmed a Buy rating, citing early AI monetization, while Altarock Partners increased its Microsoft position. Microsoft Buy Rating Reaffirmed About Microsoft (Free Report)
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.
Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).
Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft The AI Boom Is Turning This Cable Maker Into a Stock to Watch A Star Investor Just Trimmed Amazon—Here’s What It means Wendy’s Deal Buzz May Give Fast-Food Investors a New Reason to Look Home Depot Analysts See a Path to $375 and Beyond Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Confluence Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 142,894 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,717 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $53,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,060,557,000 after buying an additional 6,388,930 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,056,019,000 after buying an additional 1,911,142 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $58,624,690,000 after buying an additional 980,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Trending Headlines about Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure and Copilot momentum remain the primary catalysts. Azure reportedly surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, while Microsoft 365 Copilot exceeded 30 million paid seats. Those milestones reinforce the view that Microsoft is beginning to monetize its AI investments at scale. Price Prediction: One Number Could Decide How High Microsoft Goes in 2027 Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results continue to support the bull case. Microsoft’s latest report showed earnings per share of $4.74 versus a $4.24 consensus estimate and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Cloud computing and AI helped drive roughly 30% profit growth. These Telltale Signs Cue Microsoft Investors Despite Earnings Surge Positive Sentiment: Enterprise adoption and partnerships are broadening demand. Swiss companies are increasing their use of Microsoft’s AI and cloud products, with governance and data sovereignty controls supporting adoption. S&P Global also expanded its integration of AI-ready data into Microsoft 365 Copilot workflows. Swiss Enterprises Prioritize Microsoft AI Governance Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional sentiment remains constructive. William Blair reaffirmed a Buy rating, citing early AI monetization, while Altarock Partners increased its Microsoft position. Microsoft Buy Rating Reaffirmed Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Arete Research lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $560.27. Get Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft
Microsoft Trading Up 0.3% Shares of MSFT stock opened at $481.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $414.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $408.06.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.
Insider Activity at Microsoft In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.
Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).
Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft The AI Boom Is Turning This Cable Maker Into a Stock to Watch A Star Investor Just Trimmed Amazon—Here’s What It means Wendy’s Deal Buzz May Give Fast-Food Investors a New Reason to Look Home Depot Analysts See a Path to $375 and Beyond
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CX Institutional trimmed its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,731 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,831 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.3% of CX Institutional’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. CX Institutional’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $44,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Microsoft Trading Up 0.3% NASDAQ MSFT opened at $481.63 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $414.21 and a 200-day moving average of $408.06. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current year. Microsoft Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.
Microsoft News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure and Copilot momentum remain the primary catalysts. Azure reportedly surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, while Microsoft 365 Copilot exceeded 30 million paid seats. Those milestones reinforce the view that Microsoft is beginning to monetize its AI investments at scale. Price Prediction: One Number Could Decide How High Microsoft Goes in 2027 Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results continue to support the bull case. Microsoft’s latest report showed earnings per share of $4.74 versus a $4.24 consensus estimate and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Cloud computing and AI helped drive roughly 30% profit growth. These Telltale Signs Cue Microsoft Investors Despite Earnings Surge Positive Sentiment: Enterprise adoption and partnerships are broadening demand. Swiss companies are increasing their use of Microsoft’s AI and cloud products, with governance and data sovereignty controls supporting adoption. S&P Global also expanded its integration of AI-ready data into Microsoft 365 Copilot workflows. Swiss Enterprises Prioritize Microsoft AI Governance Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional sentiment remains constructive. William Blair reaffirmed a Buy rating, citing early AI monetization, while Altarock Partners increased its Microsoft position. Microsoft Buy Rating Reaffirmed Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. DZ Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. HSBC dropped their target price on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. New Street Research cut their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.27.
View Our Latest Research Report on MSFT
Insider Activity at Microsoft In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
About Microsoft (Free Report)
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.
Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).
Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft The AI Boom Is Turning This Cable Maker Into a Stock to Watch A Star Investor Just Trimmed Amazon—Here’s What It means Wendy’s Deal Buzz May Give Fast-Food Investors a New Reason to Look Home Depot Analysts See a Path to $375 and Beyond Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).
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First Financial Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,664 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,876 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.9% of First Financial Bank Trust Division’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,060,557,000 after buying an additional 6,388,930 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $88,056,019,000 after buying an additional 1,911,142 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $58,624,690,000 after buying an additional 980,439 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $50,664,631,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Microsoft Price Performance NASDAQ MSFT opened at $481.63 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $414.21 and its 200 day moving average is $408.06. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. New Street Research dropped their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.27.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Microsoft
Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Azure and Copilot momentum remain the primary catalysts. Azure reportedly surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, while Microsoft 365 Copilot exceeded 30 million paid seats. Those milestones reinforce the view that Microsoft is beginning to monetize its AI investments at scale. Price Prediction: One Number Could Decide How High Microsoft Goes in 2027 Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results continue to support the bull case. Microsoft’s latest report showed earnings per share of $4.74 versus a $4.24 consensus estimate and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Cloud computing and AI helped drive roughly 30% profit growth. These Telltale Signs Cue Microsoft Investors Despite Earnings Surge Positive Sentiment: Enterprise adoption and partnerships are broadening demand. Swiss companies are increasing their use of Microsoft’s AI and cloud products, with governance and data sovereignty controls supporting adoption. S&P Global also expanded its integration of AI-ready data into Microsoft 365 Copilot workflows. Swiss Enterprises Prioritize Microsoft AI Governance Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional sentiment remains constructive. William Blair reaffirmed a Buy rating, citing early AI monetization, while Altarock Partners increased its Microsoft position. Microsoft Buy Rating Reaffirmed Microsoft Profile (Free Report)
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.
Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).
Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft The AI Boom Is Turning This Cable Maker Into a Stock to Watch A Star Investor Just Trimmed Amazon—Here’s What It means Wendy’s Deal Buzz May Give Fast-Food Investors a New Reason to Look Home Depot Analysts See a Path to $375 and Beyond Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).
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Andréa Mallard is leaving Microsoft AI, where she served as chief marketing officer. Roger Kisby/Getty Images for Pinterest Microsoft AI's chief marketing officer, Andréa Mallard, started transitioning out of her post about six months after being appointed to the role, Business Insider has learned.
In an internal email, Microsoft announced that Mallard, who joined Microsoft's AI unit from Pinterest in January, plans to leave the company.
In the June 30 memo, viewed by Business Insider, Microsoft executive Yusuf Mehdi said Mallard planned to relocate her family to Europe in August to be closer to her father, who was unwell, and that this would result in her stepping back from her role.
Microsoft confirmed Mallard's departure plans and said she'll stay on until early next year as an advisor.
"I'm grateful for the incredible energy and consumer-centric ethos she's brought to turbo-charging our Copilot marketing efforts; Andrea has played a key role in advocating for a more unified approach, including the single app experience," the memo said.
Two people familiar with the matter said Mallard's departure also reflected a recent change in strategy at Microsoft AI as the company rethinks consumer marketing. Microsoft is merging its consumer and business Copilot apps into a single application. Copilot, Microsoft's flagship generative AI product, generally lags behind other AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude.
Copilot marketing is being consolidated under Microsoft executive Jared Spataro. Microsoft AI doesn't plan to directly replace Mallard's role.
Microsoft AI, the unit where Mallard was hired as CMO, has undergone a transition in recent months. Microsoft moved Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman to a new role focused on a superintelligence team in March, and consolidated its various commercial and consumer Copilot teams under a new executive.
Mallard has an extensive consumer marketing pedigree, having served as Pinterest's chief marketing officer for over seven years. Prior to that, she oversaw marketing at Gap's athleisure brand, Athleta, and served as CMO at the virtual care company Omada Health.
Marketing efforts during Mallard's short tenure included a Super Bowl spot showing how NFL teams could use Copilot in Excel to analyze athlete performance data and build profiles of their top prospects. Microsoft has also been working with influencers like Alix Earle, who has posted video content using Copilot on her social media accounts. Work on both these projects began before Mallard joined the company.
Writing on LinkedIn in January to announce her move to Microsoft AI, Mallard said she would be hiring talent and was on the lookout for people who were passionate about "humanist AI." She described AI as the most consequential technological shift of her lifetime.
"We have an enormous responsibility to get this right," Mallard wrote.
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Lara O'Reilly is the anchor of the CMO Insider newsletter.She is a senior correspondent who has covered the digital advertising, marketing, and media industries since 2010. Her current beat includes big tech companies like Alphabet, and Meta, and adtech firms, agencies, publishers, the creator economy, and CMOs.Lara has previously worked as a reporter and executive producer at titles including The Wall Street Journal, Digiday, Yahoo Finance, and Marketing Week. She was previously Business Insider's senior global advertising editor from 2014 to 2017.Lara is a regular guest on TV and radio and has appeared on outlets such as the BBC, NPR, SiriusXM's Wharton Business Daily, and CTV Television Network. She also frequently speaks on stage at major events such as Web Summit, IFA, VivaTech, Advertising Week, and Cannes Lions.To get in touch with Lara O'Reilly, email [email protected] or contact her on Signal at @loreilly.71
Quantum computing has significant potential to transform a host of technologies, including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, materials science, and drug discovery. But it's still in a relatively early stage of development, which makes it difficult to guess now which quantum computing stocks might be winners over the long term.
Two companies on many investors' quantum computing radar are pure-play D-Wave Quantum (QBTS -6.42%) and tech giant Microsoft (MSFT +0.27%). Given where the quantum computing market is right now, and considering Microsoft's financial advantages, Microsoft stock is the no-brainer winner.
Image source: Getty Images.
What's happening with D-Wave right now? I get the appeal of owning a piece of D-Wave. At face value, who wouldn't want to invest in a leading quantum computing company that's betting everything on its ability to develop some of the most advanced computing systems ever to exist?
The company has recently scored some meaningful wins, too, including a 1,120% increase in bookings to $35.5 million in the second quarter. Bookings are potential revenue, not actual sales yet, but they are a good indicator that customers are very interested in D-Wave's quantum annealing technology.
AT&T is one such customer that has just agreed to expand its use of D-Wave's quantum computers, and may use them for "complex optimization challenges across its network operations." The telecom will experiment with the tech to improve its outage detection and response, manage technician routes, and plan new network expansions.
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But bookings aren't sales, and D-Wave's revenue in the quarter was just $3 million. Revenue for most quantum computing pure-play companies is lumpy because they rely on large contracts that don't come regularly. The company also isn't profitable and likely won't be for many more years, given its limited customer base and the investments it is making in developing its quantum computing technology.
That makes D-Wave a pretty risky bet right now, especially since the company's shares are trading at a hefty premium. D-Wave's stock has a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 610, which is drastically more expensive than the average P/S ratio of about 8 for companies in the technology sector.
Microsoft is best known these days as a leading AI player, but it has also made some big strides in quantum computing. For example, Microsoft developed what it calls a topological superconductor, or topoconductor, that can create more stable qubits -- the fundamental units of computation for quantum computers.
The processor that it has built around these topoconductors, Majorana 1, is expected to eventually help Microsoft scale up to 1 million qubits on a single processor. That's a goal many companies have set because at that scale, a fault-tolerant quantum computer would be capable of handling what the company describes as "transformative, real-world solutions."
What's more, Microsoft has already commercialized its Azure cloud system for quantum computing services. With Azure Quantum, companies can rent the service for advanced research. It's an early indicator of how Microsoft will use its successful Azure cloud business to sell quantum computing services in the coming years.
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This is especially important for investors because in its fiscal 2026, which ended June 30, Azure surpassed $100 billion in annual sales (up 41% from fiscal 2025). Microsoft remains the second-largest cloud infrastructure player, behind Amazon. This means that Azure's growing success makes it more likely that customers will naturally migrate to additional Microsoft quantum computing services as they become available.
And if all that isn't convincing enough, Microsoft reported $4.74 in earnings per share in fiscal Q4, and $19.6 billion in free cash flow. At a time when investors are growing skeptical that big tech's large investments are paying off, Microsoft has proved that it knows how to develop new technology without breaking the bank.
Oh, and its shares are well-priced, too. Microsoft's stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of just 27 compared to the tech sector's average of 36.
All of this makes Microsoft a great quantum computing stock to hold as the quantum computing market develops over the next five years.
A record earnings week sent Microsoft's (MSFT +0.27%) stock up 18% in the last week of July. Satya Nadella claimed that the company's custom AI accelerators are delivering up to 40% efficiency-per-watt gains over the last generation of Microsoft Maia chips. That's a signal that Microsoft is turning its huge artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure spend into a more profitable business.
This claim matters because it suggests Microsoft can keep ramping up AI while spending less per unit of compute, and do so on its own terms rather than living on OpenAI's cost structure. Those chips include the Maia accelerator and Cobalt CPU families, designed specifically for Azure workloads and Copilot-level scale.
The message is simple: Microsoft can now get more AI work done per unit of energy and hardware by using its own silicon. That combination of lower running costs and greater control over the stack is exactly what Wall Street needs to see to remain comfortable with a $100-plus-billion-a-year AI build-out.
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The capex backdrop right now This broader efficiency story lands in a world where investors have been fixated on AI capital spending. Microsoft is on track to spend roughly $190 billion in calendar 2026, with the vast majority allocated to data centers, GPU clusters, and related infrastructure.
In FY26 alone, it spent about $116 billion on capex and still managed to grow operating cash flow to roughly $55 billion, even as free cash flow dipped to about $19.6 billion. If each rack of AI hardware runs 40% more efficiently on homegrown chips, the return on that spending improves without Microsoft needing to slow the build-out.
Less dependence on OpenAI's economics Nadella also framed Microsoft's models and chips as a more affordable option than those of OpenAI or Anthropic, whose assistants are powerful but often more expensive to run.
That matters because a large share of Azure's AI demand currently flows through OpenAI, and Microsoft's earnings disclosures show that investments in OpenAI have already weighed on net income in prior quarters.
Shifting more AI volume onto Microsoft silicon and Microsoft software models reduces its exposure to another company's pricing, margin structure, and governance risk.
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. Image source: Microsoft Corporation.
Why investors should care right now The report for fiscal year 2026 showed Azure growing about 40% to 45%, overall revenue jumping 18% to roughly $332 billion, and contracted AI revenue backlog exploding 84% year over year to about $678 billion. The stock has risen about 15% since then because that growth came with evidence that AI is expanding earnings, not just capex, and that Microsoft can keep scaling without torching its balance sheet.
For shareholders, Nadella's 40% efficiency gain is really a signal about future margins and resilience. If Microsoft can turn a $190 billion infrastructure plan into decades of high-margin AI services using cheaper, in‑house chips, the current spending spike looks less like a dangerous cash burn and more like the foundation of a long‑term cash machine.
Microsoft (MSFT +0.27%), Alphabet (GOOGL +0.06%), and Amazon (AMZN -0.71%) are building the digital land beneath the AI economy. Alphabet may lead in efficiency, and Amazon may be investing most aggressively, but Microsoft's enterprise reach and cash generation could give it the most durable path to monetizing AI at scale.
Stock prices used were the market prices of Aug. 18, 2026. The video was published on Aug. 18, 2026.
Rick Orford has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick Orford is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through their link, they will earn some extra money that supports their channel. Their opinions remain their own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.
Microsoft (MSFT +0.27%) is worth about $3.57 trillion. For the software giant to be worth $5 trillion by the end of 2029, its value needs to climb about 40% from here.
The end of 2029 is about three and a third years away, so that climb works out to about 10% a year. That's the whole prediction, reduced to arithmetic.
And what makes it worth taking seriously, I think, is how modest the required rate looks next to what the company just did. In fiscal 2026 (the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026), Microsoft grew revenue 18% to $331.8 billion and net income 31% to $133.7 billion. The fourth quarter alone brought $90 billion of revenue, up 18% year over year.
There are two ways to get to $5 trillion. One asks the earnings to do all the work. The other asks the market to pay more for each dollar of them.
Image source: Getty Images.
The earnings pathMicrosoft's stock trades at about $480 per share as of this writing, which is about 27 times the $17.95 per share the company earned in fiscal 2026.
Hold that multiple steady, and a $5 trillion Microsoft needs to earn about $187 billion a year. That is about 40% more than fiscal 2026's $133.7 billion -- the same roughly 10% annual growth rate the market value needs.
For perspective, Microsoft grew net income 31% last fiscal year alone. Some of that came from gains tied to its investment in OpenAI. Adjusted for that impact, earnings per share still rose 22%. Either number is more than double the pace the prediction requires.
And the growth drivers behind those results don't look exhausted. Azure revenue passed $100 billion for the fiscal year, and Azure and other cloud services revenue grew 43% year over year in the fourth quarter. The company's commercial remaining performance obligations (contracted revenue it hasn't yet recognized) reached $678 billion, up 84% year over year.
Next to figures like those, 10% annual earnings growth doesn't look demanding.
The market already expects part of this. The stock costs about 25 times what analysts expect the company to earn over the coming year, and that consensus calls for adjusted earnings-per-share growth of about 14% -- faster than the prediction requires.
If those expectations simply keep being met through 2029, the earnings multiple never has to budge and the company still arrives at $5 trillion.
The multiple pathNow suppose earnings growth cools. If profit growth slows to about 5% a year, Microsoft earns about $158 billion by the end of 2029 -- and reaches $5 trillion only if investors pay about 32 times earnings for it.
That would be a meaningfully richer price than today's, and it would have to take hold while growth is slowing. Investors don't usually pay richer multiples for slowing growth.
In other words, the prediction has one dependable path, not two.
The spending is the swing factorThe thing that could break the earnings path is the same thing powering it -- artificial intelligence (AI) spending. Microsoft is investing heavily in data centers to serve AI demand, and that capital spending eventually lands on the income statement as depreciation. If those costs grow faster than the revenue they support, margins compress, and 10% annual earnings growth gets harder than it sounds.
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The fiscal 2026 numbers show no sign of that in operating margin yet. Operating income rose 21% for the year, faster than revenue. But operating income is the line to watch each quarter from here.
Ultimately, $5 trillion by the end of 2029 asks Microsoft to grow earnings at about a third of the pace it just delivered, while holding the price-to-earnings ratio it already carries. Against an 18% revenue year, a 43% quarter in Azure and other cloud services, and a $678 billion backlog, I think the bar is low and the company clears it comfortably.
The caveat is that the price-to-earnings ratio, not the business, is the fragile part of the prediction. At about 27 times earnings, Microsoft isn't priced for extreme expectations. But a stretch of margin pressure from the AI build-out could compress that multiple faster than earnings grow.
The business looks capable of earning its way to $5 trillion by the end of 2029. Whether the stock gets there on time depends on that 27-times price holding up, and that part may be harder to predict.
, the world's leading enterprise software and cloud giant, held near unchanged at $480.78 Tuesday morning while the Nasdaq dropped more than 1%. In a market where investors were aggressively cutting exposure to expensive technology names, Microsoft stood firm — a sign that the AI winners with real revenue are being separated from the hype.
The reason is simple: Microsoft is turning AI spending into actual business growth. The company's latest results showed revenue climbing 18% to $90 billion, while operating income jumped 18% to $40.6 billion. Azure was the headline engine, with revenue surging 43% and crossing the $100 billion annual revenue milestone. Commercial remaining performance obligations also exploded 84% to $678 billion, giving Microsoft a massive pipeline of future revenue.
The valuation story is becoming more interesting. The GF Value chart shows Microsoft trading at $481.28 versus an estimated GF Value of $577.01, leaving the stock approximately 16.6% below its intrinsic value estimate. For a company dominating cloud, AI infrastructure, and enterprise software, that discount suggests the market may still be underestimating the durability of Microsoft's earnings power.
Microsoft's AI bet is no longer just about spending billions on data centers and chips. The payoff is already appearing in Azure demand, customer commitments, and recurring revenue. The biggest risk remains execution — turning enormous infrastructure investments into higher returns. But compared with many AI names still selling a future dream, Microsoft is showing investors the money is already starting to arrive.
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I hit the buy button on Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) again last week, and I will hit it again next month. The stock is down 6.91% over the past year and roughly flat year to date, sitting at $480.35. That is exactly the window I have been waiting for. The consolidation is the invitation.
The Thesis in Plain English My conviction rests on a simple read: Microsoft is deep in the expensive phase of an AI infrastructure buildout, and the software monetization on the other side is already landing in the numbers. Once capacity catches up to demand, the operating leverage shows up in earnings. I want to own the shares before that.
The receipts are on the table. Azure crossed $100 billion in full-year revenue for the first time and grew 43% year over year in the June quarter. Microsoft 365 Copilot passed 30 million paid seats, and management guided Azure to roughly 45% growth for the September quarter. Microsoft is already collecting the AI checks.
Three Reasons the Position Keeps Growing First, the backlog. Commercial remaining performance obligations reached $678 billion, up 84% year over year, with a weighted average duration of 2.3 years. Long-term investors want visibility. That is visibility.
Second, the profitability profile. Operating margin sits at 46.78%, return on equity at 34.04%, and return on invested capital at 22.01%. Full-year fiscal 2026 net income was $133.75 billion, up 31.34%. That is what compounding looks like at scale.
Third, the execution rhythm. Microsoft has delivered five consecutive EPS beats, with full-year fiscal 2026 EPS of $17.28 against a $16.78 estimate. Paying 25x forward earnings for a business growing net income above 31% works for my time horizon.
Why Not Amazon or Alphabet The two names a reader might reach for first are Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL). Both are serious cloud competitors. My money keeps landing on Microsoft because of the combination of that 46.78% operating margin, the 22.01% ROIC, and the $678 billion contracted backlog. The OpenAI relationship, with Microsoft’s IP rights extended through 2032 and OpenAI contracted for an incremental $250 billion in Azure services, is a moat I do not see replicated at either peer.
The Risk I Take Seriously Free cash flow fell 6.46% for the full year, and Q4 free cash flow dropped 23.19% as capex jumped 109.63% in the quarter to $35.80 billion. Management is guiding calendar 2026 capex to roughly $175 billion, and every dollar of that flows to the power, cooling, and networking suppliers we profiled in a free report on seven AI infrastructure names that are not chipmakers. If enterprise AI demand stalls, that spend becomes a millstone. I keep buying because CFO Amy Hood said on the call that “demand continues to exceed available supply” and because the RPO backlog is climbing faster than the capex line. Supply is the current constraint.
Why the Buy Button Stays Active The shares traded at $517.85 at the October filing and sit lower today after a strong month. Analyst consensus target is $569.56. I buy because a business earning 34% on equity, growing revenue 17.79%, and sitting on a $678 billion order book is exactly what I want funding the next stage of my retirement account. The consolidation will end. My cost basis will not.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Alphabet's Google (GOOG) is set to acquire internal business information from bankrupt Spirit Airlines for $10 million, with the data intended for product development and artificial intelligence model training.
The transaction covers operational and workplace records rather than customer financial information. Google said the material will be de-identified before the transfer and will exclude personally identifiable information.
The assets include employee email, Microsoft Teams communications, spreadsheets, calendars and other records tied to marketing, productivity and airline operations. The collection reportedly contains roughly 100 million emails and 500 million Teams messages.
Mercor, an AI-focused data company, also sought the assets with a $7.5 million offer. Google secured the winning bid at $10 million, while a U.S. bankruptcy court is expected to review the transaction at a Wednesday hearing.
Spirit stopped operating earlier in 2026 after failing to complete its restructuring during a second Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. Its remaining assets are being sold through the court-supervised process. Microsoft (MSFT) is not a party to the transaction; its Teams platform is referenced only because some of the acquired business records were stored there.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) just wrapped a fiscal year where Azure crossed $100 billion in annual revenue and Microsoft 365 Copilot passed 30 million paid seats.
Yet the stock is essentially flat on the year, down 0.23% YTD and 6.91% over the past year. Shares closed at $480.35. Can Microsoft hit $650 by August 2027? Here is the math and where Wall Street is under-modeling the story.
What’s Holding Microsoft Back Right Now The disconnect is capex fatigue overwhelming otherwise strong fundamentals. Microsoft committed $115.95 billion in FY2026 capital expenditures, up 79.62% year over year, and management guided FY27 capex to roughly $175 billion after a lease-classification change. Free cash flow fell 6.46%.
Traders noticed. Shares are down 5.08% in the past week even after a 21.97% one-month bounce off the July lows. With a beta of 1.099, MSFT is not a hiding place when the AI capex trade wobbles. The Yahoo Finance framing was on the nose: Azure and capex would decide the reaction. Capex won the argument, at least for now.
Wall Street Sees 19% Upside. Our Model Says 24% Analysts carry an average target of $569.56, with 14 Strong Buys, 40 Buys, 3 Holds, and zero Sells. That is 95% bullish sentiment. Our base case is more aggressive at $596.04, implying 24.08% upside with a 0.9 confidence score (high).
The bull scenario stretches to $620.06. Analysts are anchored on the current capex cycle and underweighting the $678 billion commercial RPO backlog, up 84%. That is contracted revenue on the books. Consensus feels one multiple turn too conservative.
The Path to $650 Per Share Reaching $650 from $480.35 requires a 35.3% gain. That is above both our base and bull cases, demanding multiple expansion on top of earnings delivery.
With forward EPS of $19.96, a price of $650 implies a forward P/E of 33x. Our base case of $596.04 already implies 28x, meaning the bold target requires roughly 5x additional multiple expansion.
Why that re-rating is plausible: the 247Factor adjustment of 1.154 is driven by a 1.15 technology sector multiplier, 31.7% earnings growth, and 95% bullish analyst tilt. Azure is guided to 45% constant-currency growth in Q1 FY27, with “demand continues to exceed available supply” per CFO Amy Hood.
Satya Nadella framed the flywheel this way: “We are advancing the frontier on the cost-to-outcome curve, ensuring every customer can turn tokens into business results.”
If Copilot ARPU expands under the new per-seat plus consumption billing model, FY27 EPS beats the $19.96 anchor and the multiple math gets easier. The single biggest risk is a demand pause that turns record capex into stranded capacity.
Where Microsoft Trades Today vs Its Earnings Power At $480.35 against $19.96 forward EPS, MSFT trades at roughly 24x forward earnings. For a business compounding revenue at 17.79% and net income at 31.34%, that is not a demanding multiple.
Shares sit 4% below the 52-week high of $550.24 and well above the $349.20 low. MSFT is up 837.03% over ten years. Cheap on growth, expensive only on absolute price.
Is $650 Realistic? Here’s My Take $650 requires a 35.3% gain and a re-rate to 33x forward earnings. That is a stretch, but defensible.
Three things need to go right: Azure growth stays north of 40% into FY27, the $678 billion RPO converts to reported revenue on schedule, and Copilot consumption billing lifts monetization above per-seat expectations. Any signal that AI capex is running ahead of enterprise demand derails it (we mapped the power, cooling, and networking suppliers riding the same buildout in a free report here: 7 Stocks Powering the AI Boom). We’ve outlined the blueprint for how Microsoft could reach $650 in 2027.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
First Nebraska Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) in the undefined quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 90,880 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $33,641,000. Microsoft comprises about 3.1% of First
Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) by 40.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,176 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,173 shares
Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) by 44.6% during the undefined quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 806,973 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 248,709 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes
Farmers National Bank raised its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,251 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 3,796 shares during the period. Microsoft
FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) by 3.1% in the undefined quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 49,116 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.1% of FAS
Curry Webb Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,157 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $428,000.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,060,557,000 after buying an additional 6,388,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,056,019,000 after buying an additional 1,911,142 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $58,624,690,000 after buying an additional 980,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Raymond James Financial cut Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, UBS Group set a $525.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $560.27.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT
Microsoft Stock Down 3.0%
Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $480.35 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $412.64 and a 200-day moving average of $408.06.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
More Microsoft News
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure business reportedly surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, reinforcing confidence that AI demand is translating into substantial cloud growth. The company’s strong recent earnings, rising Microsoft 365 seat count and increasing adoption of premium E7 and Copilot offerings provide additional long-term growth support. Azure revenue article Microsoft 365 seats article
Positive Sentiment: William Blair reaffirmed a Buy rating, citing early AI monetization and a constructive long-term risk-reward profile. Other coverage highlighted Microsoft’s ability to generate cash while investing heavily in AI infrastructure, distinguishing it from some competitors. Microsoft Buy rating article
Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is developing its Maia 300 AI accelerator, potentially reducing dependence on Nvidia processors and improving supply flexibility and infrastructure economics over time. Maia 300 chip article
Neutral Sentiment: A partnership with Plug Power tested hydrogen fuel-cell backup power for Microsoft data centers. The trial could support data-center resilience, but Plug’s CEO said it does not represent a strategic pivot or an immediate material change for Microsoft. Plug Power and Microsoft article
Negative Sentiment: A Guardian investigation raised questions about a possible shortfall in advanced AI chips installed across Microsoft’s facilities relative to its stated data-center expansion plans. Reports cited a potential gap of roughly 2.2 million chips, fueling concerns about deployment timing, capacity and near-term AI revenue growth. Microsoft chip capacity article
Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley warned that heavy AI capital expenditure and rising debt-related obligations could pressure hyperscaler credit quality. Although Microsoft has a strong balance sheet, the warning increases scrutiny of whether massive infrastructure spending will generate adequate returns. Morgan Stanley hyperscaler warning
Microsoft Company Profile
(Free Report)
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.
Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).
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