Microsoft

Microsoft (MSFT) is slated to report its Q2 results in the after-hours session Tuesday, Jan. 30, and analysts polled by Capital IQ are expecting the company to report a profit of $2.77 per share on revenue of $61 billion.

Microsoft is in the early stages of infusing OpenAI’s technology into all of its offerings. How much will it make from AI, and how long will it take to do so? By Andy Serwer Last week at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in the rarefied Swiss air of Davos, a select group of swells were packed into a converted storefront listening, rapt, to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and his high-profile partner Sam Altman, CEO of mega start-up OpenAI, when the discussion took a “get real” turn. Nadella, the establishment figure, dressed casually in gray slacks and a sweater, and Altman, the disrupter, wearing a suit, were talking about the great promise of generative artificial intelligence — this year’s “it” topic at Davos — and how it will vastly improve the lot of humanity. That is, until the moderator steered the conversation in a commercial direction. “Do you guys make

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Analyst Ratings Date Upside/Downside Analyst Firm Price Target Change Rating Change Previous / Current Rating 01/25/2024 13% Piper Sandler → $455 Reiterates Overweight → Overweight 01/23/2024 49.01% Truist Securities → $600 Reiterates Buy → Buy 01/18/2024 16.98% Exane BNP Paribas → $471 Upgrades Neutral → Outperform 01/12/2024 13% Piper Sandler → $455 Reiterates Overweight → Overweight 01/09/2024 4.31% BMO Capital $400 → $420 Maintains Outperform 01/02/2024 13% Piper Sandler $425 → $455 Maintains Overweight 12/28/2023 11.76% Wedbush $425 → $450 Maintains Outperform 12/15/2023 11.76% Mizuho $420 → $450 Maintains Buy 12/13/2023 49.01% Truist Securities → $600 Initiates Coverage On → Buy 12/05/2023 6.79% Argus Research $390 → $430 Maintains Buy 12/05/2023 15.73% China Renaissance → $466 Initiates Coverage On → Buy 11/29/2023 17.97% Tigress Financial $433 → $475 Maintains Buy 11/24/2023 4.31% Mizuho $420 → $420 Reiterates Buy → Buy 11/24/2023 -3.14% RBC Capital $390 → $390

Piper Sandler analyst Brent Bracelin reiterates Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) with a Overweight and maintains $455 price target.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Analyst Ratings Date Upside/Downside Analyst Firm Price Target Change Rating Change Previous / Current Rating 01/23/2024 50.83% Truist Securities → $600 Reiterates Buy → Buy 01/18/2024 18.4% Exane BNP Paribas → $471 Upgrades Neutral → Outperform 01/12/2024 14.38% Piper Sandler → $455 Reiterates Overweight → Overweight 01/09/2024 5.58% BMO Capital $400 → $420 Maintains Outperform 01/02/2024 14.38% Piper Sandler $425 → $455 Maintains Overweight 12/28/2023 13.12% Wedbush $425 → $450 Maintains Outperform 12/15/2023 13.12% Mizuho $420 → $450 Maintains Buy 12/13/2023 50.83% Truist Securities → $600 Initiates Coverage On → Buy 12/05/2023 8.09% Argus Research $390 → $430 Maintains Buy 12/05/2023 17.14% China Renaissance → $466 Initiates Coverage On → Buy 11/29/2023 19.4% Tigress Financial $433 → $475 Maintains Buy 11/24/2023 5.58% Mizuho $420 → $420 Reiterates Buy → Buy 11/24/2023 -1.96% RBC Capital $390 → $390 Reiterates Outperform → Outperform 11/22/2023 6.83% Wedbush → $425 Reiterates

Microsoft’s (MSFT) fiscal Q2 earnings are expected to benefit from the continued strength of Azure and M365, offset by weaker PC shipments, BofA Securities said in a note to clients Thursday. Microsoft is set to release its fiscal Q2 results after market close on Jan. 30. BofA said it expects an upside of 1% in constant currency to its Q2 revenue forecast of $60.9 billion, with currency anticipated to give a 2% point tailwind to Q2 growth compared with projections of 1% heading into the period. “Accelerating [average selling price] growth from M365 Copilot attach is likely to drive Office growth toward 20%,” BofA said. For Azure, the firm said it expects a 1% upside to its estimated growth of 26.5% in constant currency amid feedback suggesting “healthy continued migration of new workloads” and “sustaining adoption of the Microsoft security stack.” “In summary, we expect total revenue growth to accelerate

The recent survey by PwC revealed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, indicates a significant impact of generative AI on global employment and business strategies. According to the survey, 25% of global CEOs anticipate at least a 5% reduction in workforce due to AI deployment, particularly in the media, entertainment, banking, insurance, and logistics sectors. Conversely, engineering, construction, and technology sectors expect minimal job cuts from automation, the Financial Times reports. Generative AI, capable of rapidly producing human-like text, images, and code, is predicted to enhance profitability for 46% of businesses within a year, the report said. However, nearly half of the respondents foresee minimal impact from this technology. The survey, which involved 4,702 company chiefs from 105 countries, underscores AI’s significant economic and societal influence. Key figures in AI, such as OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Microsoft Corp’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Satya Nadella, are expected to discuss these topics at the forum. While AI promises increased

By Philip van Doorn Microsoft is expected to keep putting up strong numbers, while Apple turns into a slow-grower. Apple Inc. has long been the most valuable U.S. company, but Microsoft Corp. seems poised to overtake it. A look back at the companies’ financial performance and a look ahead at expected revenue and profits make the case that Apple is no longer a growth stock and that Microsoft is the better long-term investment. Late Friday morning, Apple (AAPL) remained in the top spot with a market capitalization of $2.893 trillion, just ahead of Microsoft (MSFT) at $2.884 trillion. Apple’s stock was down 3.4% for 2024, while Microsoft was up 3.1% for the new year. Read: Apple stock looks expensive vs. the rest of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ P/E valuation Here’s a quick comparison of total returns (with dividends reinvested) for the stocks, and for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY,

Piper Sandler analyst Brent Bracelin reiterated Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) with an Overweight and a $455 price target. After attending several developer sessions at the Microsoft AI event in San Francisco today, the analyst remained encouraged by the momentum around the most mature AI products (GitHub Copilot and Azure AI) but felt the new 3-month-old M365 Copilot remains in the early enterprise adoption phase. Microsoft remained his favorite AI All-Star stock, but tactically, after the 57% move in 2023, it might need further AI proof points and time to grow into the premium multiple over the next 3-6 months. Regardless, Microsoft has a first-mover advantage in AI that makes this a core growth holding. GitHub Copilot Enterprise (scheduled to GA in February) features enough compelling enhancements to justify the $39/month price point (vs. GitHub Copilot individual pricing at $10/month and business version at $19/month). The number of GitHub Copilot users has scaled quickly to

By Eric J. Savitz Microsoft edged past Apple Friday to reclaim the title of the world’s most valuable public company. The software giant now has a valuation of $2.89 trillion, slightly ahead of Apple at $2.87 trillion. Microsoft has been gradually closing the gap. Over the last 12 months, its shares have rallied 62.9%, versus a 39.4% gain for Apple. So far in 2024, Microsoft shares are 3.3% higher, while Apple is off 3.4%. Microsoft’s valuation briefly exceeded Apple’s market cap on an intraday basis earlier this week, before falling back. Apple had spent more than 500 days as the stock market’s most valued company. Microsoft last held the top spot on a closing basis in November 2021. The emergence of the artificial intelligence software boom has been a boost to Microsoft shares. The company has been aggressively rolling out Copilot AI software across its portfolio, the Azure cloud business

Piper Sandler analyst Brent Bracelin reiterates Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) with a Overweight and maintains $455 price target.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) stock Analyst Ratings Date Upside/Downside Analyst Firm Price Target Change Rating Change Previous / Current Rating 01/09/2024 12.22% BMO Capital $400 → $420 Maintains Outperform 01/02/2024 21.57% Piper Sandler $425 → $455 Maintains Overweight 12/28/2023 20.23% Wedbush $425 → $450 Maintains Outperform 12/15/2023 20.23% Mizuho $420 → $450 Maintains Buy 12/13/2023 60.31% Truist Securities → $600 Initiates Coverage On → Buy 12/05/2023 14.89% Argus Research $390 → $430 Maintains Buy 12/05/2023 24.51% China Renaissance → $466 Initiates Coverage On → Buy 11/29/2023 26.91% Tigress Financial $433 → $475 Maintains Buy 11/24/2023 12.22% Mizuho $420 → $420 Reiterates Buy → Buy 11/24/2023 4.2% RBC Capital $390 → $390 Reiterates Outperform → Outperform 11/22/2023 13.55% Wedbush → $425 Reiterates Outperform → Outperform 11/20/2023 15.42% Evercore ISI Group → $432 Reiterates Outperform → Outperform 11/20/2023 8.21% Macquarie $405 → $405 Reiterates Outperform → Outperform 11/20/2023 13.55% Wedbush → $425 Reiterates Outperform