Microsoft

Former hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli cast doubt on recent quantum computing advances and stock valuations, particularly targeting IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) and Rigetti Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) in a series of posts on X on Wednesday. What Happened: “IONQ and RGTI are both worth low single digits vs. their $33 and $10 prices today. quantum computing is not commercially viable in any serious way,” Shkreli wrote, suggesting Microsoft Corp.’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) recent quantum announcement could negatively impact both companies’ market positions. His comments come as Microsoft unveiled its Majorana 1 quantum chip, featuring a new Topological Core architecture that the company claims could eventually scale to one million qubits. The chip utilizes topoconductor technology, enabling more reliable and scalable quantum bits through controlled Majorana particles. Shkreli claimed there was an intense effort to prevent Microsoft’s quantum paper from being published, cautioning that the term “breakthrough” should be used with caution. There was a fairly vicious battle to disqualify the Microsoft […]

In today’s rapidly changing and fiercely competitive business landscape, it is essential for investors and industry enthusiasts to thoroughly analyze companies. In this article, we will conduct a comprehensive industry comparison, evaluating Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) against its key competitors in the Software industry. By examining key financial metrics, market position, and growth prospects, we aim to provide valuable insights for investors and shed light on company’s performance within the industry. Microsoft Background Microsoft develops and licenses consumer and enterprise software. It is known for its Windows operating systems and Office productivity suite. The company is organized into three equally sized broad segments: productivity and business processes (legacy Microsoft Office, cloud-based Office 365, Exchange, SharePoint, Skype, LinkedIn, Dynamics), intelligence cloud (infrastructure- and platform-as-a-service offerings Azure, Windows Server OS, SQL Server), and more personal computing (Windows Client, Xbox, Bing search, display advertising, and Surface laptops, tablets, and desktops). Company P/E P/B P/S ROE EBITDA (in

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) is currently at $440.25, up $11.75 or 2.74% –Would be highest close since Dec. 17, 2024, when it closed at $454.46 –On pace for largest percent increase since Oct. 25, 2023, when it rose 3.07% –Currently up three of the past five days –Up 4.45% month-to-date –Up 4.45% year-to-date –Down 5.84% from its all-time closing high of $467.56 on July 5, 2024 –Up 9.36% from 52 weeks ago (Jan. 24, 2024), when it closed at $402.56 –Down 5.84% from its 52-week closing high of $467.56 on July 5, 2024 –Up 13.08% from its 52-week closing low of $389.33 on April 30, 2024 –Traded as high as $441.90; highest intraday level since Dec. 20, 2024, when it hit $443.74 –Up 3.13% at today’s intraday high; largest intraday percent increase since May 1, 2024, when it rose as much as 3.18% –Third best performer in the DJIA today –Ninth

Artificial intelligence could speed up permitting procedures for projects like data centers or wind farms, Microsoft President Brad Smith told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “There are so many places today where it takes more time to get a permit to say, construct a wind turbine, than it does to build and construct the wind turbine,” he said, adding that companies “massively need more work to accelerate this.” Smith said Microsoft has around 872 permitting processes in progress globally and there is rarely any doubt that a permit will be issued at the end of them, and some tools are ideal for the job. “What you’re doing is taking a spec and comparing data to it, then a human being has to do all that work and identify where there’s a mismatch,” he said. “But when you just think about that, AI is really quite

Microsoft’s (MSFT) LinkedIn was accused of sharing customers’ private messages without permission in a lawsuit filed late Tuesday. The lawsuit, filed in US District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges the company disclosed its Premium customers’ private messages to third parties without permission to train artificial intelligence models. The communications included “incredibly sensitive and potentially life altering information about employment, intellectual property, compensation and other personal matters,” the lawsuit said. It added that customers’ data was now permanently embedded in AI systems and that the company had not offered to delete it from existing AI models after giving users an option to opt out of the practice. The lawsuit was filed by a LinkedIn Premium user on behalf of all paying customers.

Microsoft’s (MSFT) cloud migration deals and contribution from artificial intelligence could help push fiscal second-quarter revenue above expectations, BofA Securities said on Tuesday. The brokerage reiterated a buy rating and $510 price target on the stock. The technology giant is scheduled to report second-quarter results on Jan. 29. Upside of up to 1% could be at play for BofA Securities’ revenue estimate of $68.6 billion, which implies year-over-year growth of about 10% at constant currencies, according to the research note. The consensus on FactSet is for revenue of $68.9 billion. Industry conversations suggested “solid, stable Azure activity led by cloud migration deals” and momentum within Microsoft 365’s AI-powered tool Copilot, according to analyst Brad Sills. The latter could spur upgrade cycles for Microsoft’s E3 and E5 enterprise plans, with companies needing to adopt necessary security features, he said. The momentum could drive 11% year-over-year growth in Microsoft’s productivity and business

Microsoft (MSFT) plans to reduce less than 1% of its 228,000 employees in the next few months, The Information reported Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The layoffs will reportedly be based on employee performance and span multiple divisions. Microsoft said in a statement to MT Newswires it is “planning terminations related to performance across the company, and that when people leave for performance reasons, the company typically backfills the roles.” A Microsoft spokesman added, “At Microsoft we focus on high performance talent. We are always working on helping people learn and grow. When people are not performing, we take the appropriate action.”

Microsoft (MSFT) faces negative investor sentiment due to concerns about gross margins, capital expenditures, artificial intelligence monetization, and its OpenAI relationship, Morgan Stanley said in an earnings preview on Thursday. But despite short-term supply constraints in AI infrastructure, Microsoft’s ability to deliver steady core Azure consumption puts it in a positive setup for outperformance in the upcoming quarters, the analysts said. “We expect to see modest upside in F1Q outperformance, but see the larger lever for stock outperformance being greater investor confidence in the F2H Azure acceleration,” Morgan Stanley said. The firm said investors have reduced their expectations for Microsoft 365 Copilot due to limited financial visibility and competitive pressures. However, it is showing positive signs of adoption and is viewed as a potential multi-year driver for average revenue per user expansion. Morgan Stanley expects the company’s capital expenditures to remain high as they are aligned with future growth in

So-called “platform” stocks, such as Microsoft and Snowflake, are currently the most attractive part of the AI sector as the sector continues to evolve, according to Goldman Sachs. In a recent note, a team of Goldman analysts led by Ryan Hammond revisited its “four phases of AI” investment hypothesis and examined which stocks would offer the best bet in coming months. To recap, Goldman considers Nvidia (NVDA), as the “clearest near-term AI beneficiary,” to encapsulate Phase 1. Phase 2 comprises firms focused on AI infrastructure, including semiconductor firms, cloud providers, data center REITs, hardware and equipment companies, security software stocks and utilities companies, according to Goldman, which gave this cohort the mnemonic GSCBAIP2. Phase 3 includes companies with the potential to monetize AI – primarily via software and IT services (GSCBAIP3). Phase 4 includes companies with the biggest potential earnings boost because of the productivity gains it is hoped AI

Slow AI adoption may be a bigger drag on Microsoft performance than previously expected. Oppenheimer’s Timothy Horan says in a report that Open AI losses for Microsoft could be in the $2 billion-$3 billion range in 2025 and may mean that current consensus estimates for revenue and EPS are also too high. “We reiterate the Street is likely overestimating near-term AI revenues as enterprise adoption and infrastructure remains a bottleneck,” Horan says, who downgrades the its rating to perform from outperform. This may be only a near-term issue however, since Microsoft is investing in a once-in-a-generation technology which could deprioritize expanding margins in the short-term.

Microsoft had good news for investors as the software giant announced plans for an increased shareholder payout as well as a new share buyback program. It said late Monday that it is increasing its quarterly dividend by 10% compared with last quarter, to 83 cents a share. The dividend is payable on Dec. 12 to shareholders of record on Nov. 21. The board of directors at the software giant also approved a new share repurchase program of up to $60 billion. The program has no expiration date and can be terminated at any time. Share buybacks are seen as good for shareholders as the amount of outstanding shares decreases, which tends to increase the nominal value per share. Microsoft reported fourth-quarter results on July 30 that largely matched analysts’ estimates. Shares, however, fell immediately after the release, reflecting the market’s high expectation of the legacy software company. The stock was

Microsoft (MSFT)-backed OpenAI is in talks with venture capitalists to raise billions of dollars in a new funding round that could value the company at more than $100 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital is leading the investment round with about $1 billion and will be the biggest funding round since Microsoft invested $10 billion in the ChatGPT maker in early 2023, the news outlet reported.