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Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Microsoft logo
$424.56 +2.19 (+0.52%)
As of 01/8/2025 04:00 PM Eastern

About Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Stats

Today's Range
$421.54
$426.97
50-Day Range
$406.35
$454.46
52-Week Range
$371.19
$468.35
Volume
15.04 million shs
Average Volume
17.46 million shs
Market Capitalization
$3.16 trillion
P/E Ratio
35.03
Dividend Yield
0.78%
Price Target
$511.62
Consensus Rating
Moderate Buy

Company Overview

Microsoft Corporation was founded in 1975 in Albuquerque, New Mexico by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. The two quit their respective Harvard schooling and programming jobs to start a software company focused on the then-popular Altair 8800. Originally named Micro-Soft, Microsoft is a portmanteau of the words microprocessor and software. The company quickly took off and was relocated to Washington State where it is headquartered today.

Microsoft launched a game called Flight Simulator in 1982 that has since become the longest-running video game franchise. The company’s first major breakthrough came in the early 80s when it licensed MS-DOS to IBM for their personal computer and then another came in 1985 the company altered the way computers were used when it launched Windows. Windows used a graphical interface to display information that included drop-down menus, scroll bars, and other features commonly found in operating systems today.

Microsoft went public in 1986 making founder Bill Gates the world’s youngest billionaire. Other innovations that helped make the company’s name include Windows 95 which included many upgrades to the original and, when the Internet took off, Internet Explorer. Bill Gates gave up his role as CEO in 2000 and the company is now run by Satya Nadella. Mr. Nadella took over the role of CEO in 2014 and then the role of chairman in 2021.

Today the company develops, licenses, and supports software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide. The company operates in three segments that include Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. As of 2022, Microsoft’s Azure powered more than 20% of the Cloud putting it in second place globally.

The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers several software solutions including Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft Viva, and Skype for Business. Microsoft also operates Skype, Outlook.com, OneDrive, and LinkedIn for business professionals as well as Dynamics 365. Dynamics 365 is a set of cloud-based and on-premises business solutions for organizations and enterprises of all sizes.

The Intelligent Cloud segment licenses SQL, Windows Servers, Visual Studio, System Center, and related Client Access Licenses. Microsoft Intelligent Cloud also operates GitHub which is a collaboration platform and code hosting service for developers. Intelligent Cloud also hosts Nuance healthcare and enterprise AI solutions, and Azure, a cloud platform, as well as associated services.

The More Personal Computing segment provides Windows original equipment manufacturer (OEM) licensing and other licensing of the Windows family of operating systems. This includes Windows Commercial, Windows cloud services, and Windows Internet of Things.

The More Personal Computing segment also offers Surface, PC accessories, PCs, tablets, gaming and entertainment consoles, Xbox hardware, and Xbox content and services including video games and third-party video game royalties. The company sells its products through OEMs, distributors, and resellers; and directly through digital marketplaces, online stores, and retail stores.

Microsoft Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

See Top Rated MarketRank™ Stocks
99th Percentile Overall Score

MSFT MarketRank™: 

Microsoft scored higher than 99% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 7th out of 672 stocks in the computer and technology sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

  • Consensus Rating

    Microsoft has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.93, and is based on 27 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

  • Amount of Analyst Coverage

    Microsoft has been the subject of 16 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

  • Read more about Microsoft's stock forecast and price target.
  • Earnings Growth

    Earnings for Microsoft are expected to grow by 14.31% in the coming year, from $12.93 to $14.78 per share.

  • Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

    The P/E ratio of Microsoft is 35.03, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 111.44.

  • Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

    The P/E ratio of Microsoft is 35.03, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Computer and Technology sector average P/E ratio of about 236.14.

  • Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

    Microsoft has a PEG Ratio of 2.37. 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 11.75. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

  • Percentage of Shares Shorted

    0.82% 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 2.9, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.
  • Change versus previous month

    Short interest in Microsoft has recently decreased by 4.55%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.
  • Dividend Yield

    Microsoft has a dividend yield of 0.79%, 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 27.39%. 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 22.46% next year. This indicates that Microsoft will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

  • Read more about Microsoft's dividend.
  • Percentage of Shares Shorted

    0.82% 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 2.9, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.
  • Change versus previous month

    Short interest in Microsoft has recently decreased by 4.55%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.
  • News Sentiment

    Microsoft has a news sentiment score of 1.02. 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 0.80 average news sentiment score of Computer and Technology companies.
  • News Coverage This Week

    MarketBeat has tracked 193 news articles for Microsoft this week, compared to 112 articles on an average week.
  • Search Interest

    1560 people have searched for MSFT on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 14% compared to the previous 30 days.
  • MarketBeat Follows

    831 people have added Microsoft to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 23% compared to the previous 30 days.
  • 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 $17,383,892.00 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.

  • Read more about Microsoft's insider trading history.
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MSFT Stock News Headlines

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The 5 Stocks Congress Bought Most in 2024: Top Picks for 2025 (MSFT)
Intel, Palo Alto Networks, Broadcom, NVIDIA, and Microsoft are the five stocks most bought by members of Congress in 2024.
Despite the Tesla Crash, These Traders Are 9 for 9
Most Tesla shareholders are disappointed in the stock's performance in 2024, with a 30% decline year to date. But not this guy… One trader has found a way to turn Tesla’s downfall into a flurry of opportunity. In fact, he hasn’t lost a single trade on Tesla this year! See for yourself (Notice how short of a time period he holds onto the stock):
The logo of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, is seen at its Tanegashima Space Cente…
Japan links Chinese hacker MirrorFace to dozens of cyberattacks targeting security and tech data
Japan has linked more than 200 cyberattacks over the past five years targeting the country’s national security and high technology data to a Chinese hacking group, MirrorFace
Konskie, Poland - November 12, 2024: Palantir company logo displayed on mobile phone — Stock Editorial Photography
These 3 AI Stocks Are Ready to Lead in 2025 (MSFT)
AI is gaining traction, as are these alternatives to NVIDIA and the hyperscalers. Ambarella, Palantir, and AeroVironment monetize AI today and business grows.
See More Headlines

MSFT Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

Microsoft's stock was trading at $421.50 at the start of the year. Since then, MSFT stock has increased by 0.7% and is now trading at $424.56.
View the best growth stocks for 2025 here
.

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October, 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year.
Read the conference call transcript
.

Microsoft's board approved a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th 2024, which allows the company to buy back $60,000,000,000 in outstanding shares, according to EventVestor. This means that the company could reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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

Microsoft's top institutional investors include Nordea Investment Management AB (0.17%), Douglas Lane & Associates LLC (0.01%), Confluence Investment Management LLC and Park National Corp OH. Insiders that own company stock include Corp Microsoft, Satya Nadella, Bradford L Smith, Amy Hood, Kathleen T Hogan, Judson Althoff, Christopher David Young, Christopher C Capossela, Christopher C Capossela, Takeshi Numoto, Teri List and Emma N Walmsley.
View institutional ownership trends
.

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.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

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
10/30/2024
Ex-Dividend for 12/12 Dividend
11/21/2024
Dividend Payable
12/12/2024
Today
1/08/2025
Fiscal Year End
6/30/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

Industry
Prepackaged software
Sub-Industry
Systems Software
Current Symbol
NASDAQ:MSFT
CUSIP
59491810
Employees
228,000
Year Founded
1975

Price Target and Rating

Average Stock Price Target
$511.62
High Stock Price Target
$600.00
Low Stock Price Target
$465.00
Potential Upside/Downside
+20.5%
Consensus Rating
Moderate Buy
Rating Score (0-4)
2.93
Research Coverage
29 Analysts

Profitability

Net Income
$88.14 billion
Pretax Margin
43.58%

Debt

Sales & Book Value

Annual Sales
$254.19 billion
Cash Flow
$14.10 per share
Book Value
$36.12 per share

Miscellaneous

Outstanding Shares
7,434,881,000
Free Float
7,432,651,000
Market Cap
$3.16 trillion
Optionable
Optionable
Beta
0.90

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This page (NASDAQ:MSFT) was last updated on 1/9/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff
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