Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)
Microsoft is the tech giant behind Windows, Office, and the Azure cloud platform, powering everything from home PCs to massive corporate data centres.
Is Microsoft Corporation a good stock for a UK beginner?
The honest version: Microsoft is the tech giant behind Windows, Office, and the Azure cloud platform, powering everything from home PCs to massive corporate data centres.
Over about 2 years to 2026-07-31. This is the share price only - reinvesting the dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.
Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.
Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.
Dominance in AI becomes a primary profit driver
Regulatory challenges or a major shift in tech demand
What does Microsoft Corporation do?
Microsoft makes its money by selling software subscriptions like Office 365, cloud computing services through Azure, and gaming hardware like Xbox. It has become a central pillar of the modern digital economy, effectively acting as the operating system for most of the world's businesses. How well they fold their new artificial intelligence tools into these existing products to keep customers paying will be worth following.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on quality and growth, and weakest on value.
- ✓Pays a dividend - about 0.8% a year
- ✓Growing - revenue up about 18% over the year
- ✓Very profitable - turns about 40% of sales into profit
- ✓Low debt - a sturdier balance sheet
- ✓Strong return on shareholder money (ROE 34%)
- Quality screens high (83/100)
- Extremely high profit margins
- Dominant position in both business and personal computing
- Strong, consistent revenue growth
- Increased government scrutiny and antitrust regulations
- Cybersecurity threats to cloud infrastructure
- Potential for AI development costs to outpace immediate revenue
What do Microsoft Corporation's numbers mean?
How much money does Microsoft Corporation make?
Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.
Does Microsoft Corporation pay a dividend?
Yes - Microsoft Corporation currently pays a dividend of about 0.8% a year (the yearly payout as a share of the price). A dividend is a slice of profit handed to shareholders; the yield moves as the price moves, and a company can cut or stop it.
When does Microsoft Corporation report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?
Microsoft Corporation is next scheduled to report on about 2026-10-28 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.
Each quarter a company reports its results against what analysts expected. ‘Beating’ or ‘missing’ is about that expectation, not whether the business is doing well in absolute terms.
| Reported | Expected EPS: The earnings per share analysts expected for the quarter - the average of their forecasts. 'Beating' or 'missing' is measured against this number. | Actual EPS | vs expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-29 | $4.24 | $4.74 | Beat +12% |
| 2026-04-29 | $4.07 | $4.27 | Beat +5% |
| 2026-01-28 | $3.92 | $4.14 | Beat +6% |
| 2025-10-29 | $3.66 | $4.13 | Beat +13% |
| 2025-07-30 | $3.38 | $3.65 | Beat +8% |
| 2025-04-30 | $3.22 | $3.46 | Beat +7% |
Across the last 6 quarters here, Microsoft Corporation came in ahead of what analysts expected 6 times. One quarter is noise, not a trend.
See who else reports over the next two weeks →
Reported vs expected earnings per share (EPS) from published results; the expectation is the analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates that can move.
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Hewlett Packard EnterpriseWhat are the scenarios for Microsoft Corporation?
An illustrative range for the year ahead, with the assumption behind each case — not a prediction or a price target.
What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Corporation?
How many points the write-up makes each way — a balance check, not a score or verdict.
- Extremely high profit margins
- Dominant position in both business and personal computing
- Strong, consistent revenue growth
- Massive scale and financial resources
- High valuation compared to slower-growing companies
- Heavy reliance on the cloud computing market
- Significant competition from other tech giants
- Increased government scrutiny and antitrust regulations
- Cybersecurity threats to cloud infrastructure
- Potential for AI development costs to outpace immediate revenue
The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.
- A sustained decline in cloud computing demand
- Major failure in AI product rollout
Built from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →
This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-01 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.