Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen and headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Initially gaining prominence with its MS-DOS operating system, the company introduced the Windows platform in 1985, which became the foundation for its expansion into personal and enterprise computing. Over the decades, Microsoft has evolved from a software-centric firm to a diversified technology leader with offerings spanning productivity applications, cloud infrastructure, hardware devices, gaming, and artificial intelligence.

In its Productivity and Business Processes segment, Microsoft develops Office 365, a suite of cloud-based applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams, along with enterprise solutions such as Dynamics for customer relationship management. LinkedIn, acquired in 2016, enhances the company’s reach into professional networking and recruiting services. The Intelligent Cloud segment, highlighted by Microsoft Azure, provides infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings that support computing, networking, analytics, storage and database functions for businesses worldwide.

The More Personal Computing division encompasses the Windows operating system, Surface devices, search advertising through Bing and gaming via the Xbox console and related services. Microsoft’s investment in artificial intelligence and machine learning has led to the integration of advanced features such as Copilot across its software portfolio, as well as research initiatives and partnerships to accelerate AI-driven solutions. Additionally, GitHub, acquired in 2018, serves millions of developers with collaboration tools, version control and security features for open-source and enterprise projects.

Under the leadership of CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has emphasized innovation, cloud-first strategies and sustainability efforts. The company operates in more than 190 countries, serving organizations of all sizes and sectors. With a focus on security, privacy and responsible AI, Microsoft continues to expand its global footprint through strategic investments, partnerships and acquisitions that strengthen its position as a technology enabler for businesses and governments around the world.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $508.33 to $514.64
• 50-Day Range: $438.73 to $511.70
• 52-Week Range: $344.79 to $514.64
• Volume: 11.02 million shs
• Average Volume: 22.42 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $3.80 trillion
• P/E Ratio: 39.48
• Dividend Yield: 0.65%
• Price Target: $541.79
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Microsoft Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Microsoft scored higher than 92% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 86th out of 665 stocks in the computer and technology sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Microsoft has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.91, and is based on 29 buy ratings, 3 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Microsoft has been the subject of 26 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 12.39%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Microsoft are expected to grow by 12.39% in the coming year, from $13.08 to $14.70 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Microsoft is 39.48, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 26.61.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Microsoft is 39.48, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Computer and Technology sector average P/E ratio of about 33.56.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Microsoft has a PEG Ratio of 2.30. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Microsoft has a P/B Ratio of 14.14. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

0.78% of the float of Microsoft has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Microsoft has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.6, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Microsoft has recently increased by 11.12%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Yield

Microsoft has a dividend yield of 0.66%, which is in the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Microsoft has been increasing its dividend for 23 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Microsoft is 25.66%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Microsoft will have a dividend payout ratio of 22.59% next year. This indicates that Microsoft will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 2.9 / 5
• Environmental Score: -0.75

Percentage of Shares Shorted

0.78% of the float of Microsoft has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Microsoft has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.6, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Microsoft has recently increased by 11.12%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.9 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.08

News Sentiment

Microsoft has a news sentiment score of 1.08. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.83 average news sentiment score of Computer and Technology companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 200 news articles for Microsoft this week, compared to 185 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

339 people have searched for MSFT on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 18% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

403 people have added Microsoft to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 0% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Microsoft insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $60,224,683.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 0.03% of the stock of Microsoft is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

71.13% of the stock of Microsoft is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

MSFT Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have MSFT shares performed this year?

Microsoft's stock was trading at $421.50 on January 1st, 2025. Since then, MSFT shares have increased by 21.2% and is now trading at $510.6810.

How were Microsoft's earnings last quarter?

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April, 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis.
Read the conference call transcript.

Is Microsoft doing a stock buyback?

Microsoft's board approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th 2024, which permits the company to repurchase $60,000,000,000 in shares, according to EventVestor. This means that the company could purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Does Microsoft have any subsidiaries?

Microsoft subsidiaries include Miburo, Minit, Activision Blizzard, Xandr, Two Hat Security, Clear Software, Ally.io, and more.

Who are Microsoft's major shareholders?

Microsoft's top institutional shareholders include Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC (1.22%), Swedbank AB (0.19%), Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt (0.06%) and Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio (0.05%). Insiders that own company stock include Corp Microsoft, Satya Nadella, Amy Hood, Bradford L Smith, Kathleen T Hogan, Christopher David Young, Judson Althoff, Christopher C Capossela, Christopher C Capossela, Takeshi Numoto, Amy Coleman and Teri List.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Microsoft?

Shares of MSFT stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Microsoft own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Microsoft investors own include Meta Platforms (META), Chevron (CVX), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), Comcast (CMCSA), Charles Schwab (SCHW), McKesson (MCK) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 4/30/2025
• Record date for 6/12 Dividend: 5/15/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 6/12 Dividend: 5/15/2025
• Dividend Payable: 6/12/2025
• Today: 7/18/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 7/29/2025
• Record date for 9/11 Dividend: 8/21/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 9/11 Dividend: 8/21/2025
• Dividend Payable: 9/11/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 6/30/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Computer and Technology
• Industry: COMP - SOFTWARE
• Sub-Industry: Systems Software
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:MSFT
• CIK: 789019
• Web: www.microsoft.com
• Phone: (425) 882-8080
• Fax: 425-706-7329
• Employees: 228,000
• Year Founded: 1975

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Microsoft: $538.04
• High Price Target: $605.00
• Low Price Target: $475.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +5.1%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.91
• Research Coverage: 32 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $12.94
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 39.54
• Forward P/E Ratio: 39.12
• P/E Growth: 2.3
• Net Income: $88.14 billion
• Net Margins: 35.79%
• Pretax Margin: 43.80%
• Return on Equity: 32.74%
• Return on Assets: 18.13%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.12
• Current Ratio: 1.37
• Quick Ratio: 1.36

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $245.12 billion
• Price / Sales: 15.52
• Cash Flow: $15.04 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 34.03
• Book Value: $36.12 per share
• Price / Book: 14.17

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 7,432,540,000
• Free Float: 7,430,314,000
• Market Cap: $3.80 trillion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.04