Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.22 EPS

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.22, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. Microsoft updated its Q2 2025 guidance to EPS.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $23.89 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $408.64. 32,829,777 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,309,779. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $421.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $424.70. Microsoft has a fifty-two week low of $334.69 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.38.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Microsoft stock. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.7% of Ironwood Wealth Management LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Microsoft

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.