What is Zacks Research's Forecast for Microsoft Q4 Earnings?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q4 2025 earnings estimates for Microsoft in a report issued on Wednesday, May 21st. Zacks Research analyst V. Sawalka now expects that the software giant will earn $3.30 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $3.31. The consensus estimate for Microsoft's current full-year earnings is $13.08 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Microsoft's Q3 2026 earnings at $3.72 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $4.25 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $4.30 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $17.10 EPS.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

MSFT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $513.13.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $454.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.62, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $401.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $413.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Newton One Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.

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