Microsoft Corporation MSFT
NasdaqInfrastructure softwareFinancials to Jun 30, 2026 · Updated Oct 9, 2026
Moat ranks
Balance sheet
| $B | Jun '25 | Jun '26 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | 30.2 | 20.9 |
| Securities | 64.3 | 52.1 |
| Restricted cash | – | 11.3 |
| Debt | 43.2 | 40.3 |
| Net cash | 51.4 | 32.7 |
| Equity | 343.5 | 442.4 |
- Debt / EBITDA
- 0.21×
- Debt / equity
- 0.09×
- Leases (6/30/26)
- $88.5B
- Diluted shares
- 7,453M
- Book value / share
- $59.36
- Price / book
- 8.8×
- Net cash / share
- $4.39
- Market cap
- $3.88T
- Enterprise value
- $3.85T
Per-share record
Key indicators
| Indicator | Latest | Vs year ago | Last 8 quarters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 17.7% | -0.4 pts | |
| Operating margin | 45.1% | +0.2 pts | |
| FCF margin | 21.8% | -11.6 pts | |
| Capex / revenue | 39.8% | +17.4 pts | |
| Azure revenue | $29.4B | +42% | |
| Microsoft 365 cloud revenue | $26.7B | +17% | |
| Azure revenue growth | +42% | – | |
| Microsoft 365 commercial cloud revenue growth | +16% | – | |
| Microsoft 365 commercial seats growth | +7% | – |
Margins and growth from reported quarters; company KPIs as reported in results releases.
About MSFT
Microsoft sells cloud infrastructure, commercial and consumer productivity and AI applications, business systems, Windows, games, advertising and professional subscriptions. Under its September 2026 reporting update, Agents and Infra accounts for $268.127bn of FY2026 revenue and Devices and Consumer for $63.712bn.
- Suite Bundling
Microsoft combines productivity, identity, security and AI in one suite.
- Data Workflow Lockin
Microsoft 365/Office 365 is designed and accounted for as an integrated cloud+desktop offering, reflecting deep workflow interdependency that raises switching costs.
- Long Term Contracts
Enterprise subscriptions and Azure commitments protect contracted revenue during their term.
- Two Sided Network
LinkedIn's large member graph creates a two-sided network between professionals and recruiters/advertisers; scale improves matching, content, and targeting.
- Oct 8, 2026
Xbox formed XP under Kayleen Walters to expand game franchises into film, licensing, partnerships and live experiences. The division creates more routes to earn from existing intellectual property, with no separate earnings outlook.
- Oct 8, 2026
Xbox appointed Maria Angelidou-Smith as Mojang and Minecraft CEO, starting October 19. The handover affects product and monetization decisions for one of Microsoft’s largest game franchises.
- Oct 8, 2026
The US administration suspended Microsoft from the PERM permanent labor certification program. The restriction can affect staff retention; Microsoft disputes claims about its hiring practices and the business cost is unreported.
- Oct 7, 2026
Microsoft announced that local-model routing and sandboxed tools for GitHub Copilot on Windows PCs are rolling out now. Local inference can reduce cloud cost, but paid adoption remains unproven.
- Oct 7, 2026
Microsoft opened Surface Laptop Ultra preorders from $2,599, with availability from October 16. NVIDIA-based local AI hardware adds a route to developer demand, while its premium price limits the initial audience.
Ownership
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On this page
Financial record
| Fiscal year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Trend | Change 2017–26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per share ($) | ||||||||||||
| Revenue | 12.33 | 14.16 | 16.23 | 18.61 | 22.09 | 26.30 | 28.36 | 32.82 | 37.74 | 44.52 | +15.3%/yr | |
| Cash flow | 5.04 | 5.63 | 6.73 | 7.90 | 10.09 | 11.81 | 11.72 | 15.87 | 18.24 | 24.55 | +19.2%/yr | |
| Earnings | 3.25 | 2.13 | 5.06 | 5.76 | 8.05 | 9.65 | 9.68 | 11.80 | 13.64 | 17.95 | +20.9%/yr | |
| Free cash flow | 4.01 | 4.14 | 4.93 | 5.89 | 7.38 | 8.64 | 7.96 | 9.92 | 9.59 | 8.99 | +9.4%/yr | |
| Capex | 1.04 | 1.49 | 1.80 | 2.01 | 2.71 | 3.17 | 3.76 | 5.95 | 8.65 | 15.56 | +35.1%/yr | |
| Dividends | 1.51 | 1.63 | 1.78 | 1.97 | 2.17 | 2.41 | 2.65 | 2.91 | 3.23 | 3.55 | +9.9%/yr | |
| Book value | 11.20 | 10.61 | 13.20 | 15.40 | 18.66 | 22.09 | 27.60 | 35.95 | 46.01 | 59.36 | +20.4%/yr | |
| Diluted shares (M) | 7,832 | 7,794 | 7,753 | 7,683 | 7,608 | 7,540 | 7,472 | 7,469 | 7,465 | 7,453 | -0.5%/yr | |
| Totals ($B) | ||||||||||||
| Revenue | 96.6 | 110.4 | 125.8 | 143.0 | 168.1 | 198.3 | 211.9 | 245.1 | 281.7 | 331.8 | +14.7%/yr | |
| Operating income | 29.0 | 35.1 | 43.0 | 53.0 | 69.9 | 83.4 | 88.5 | 109.4 | 128.5 | 155.2 | +20.5%/yr | |
| Net income | 25.5 | 16.6 | 39.2 | 44.3 | 61.3 | 72.7 | 72.4 | 88.1 | 101.8 | 133.7 | +20.2%/yr | |
| Free cash flow | 31.4 | 32.3 | 38.3 | 45.2 | 56.1 | 65.1 | 59.5 | 74.1 | 71.6 | 67.0 | +8.8%/yr | |
| Buybacks | 10.3 | 8.6 | 16.8 | 19.7 | 23.0 | 28.0 | 18.4 | 12.0 | 13.0 | 16.7 | +5.5%/yr | |
| Dividends | 11.8 | 12.7 | 13.8 | 15.1 | 16.5 | 18.1 | 19.8 | 21.8 | 24.1 | 26.4 | +9.3%/yr | |
| Net cash | 46.8 | 57.6 | 61.6 | 73.2 | 72.2 | 55.0 | 64.0 | 30.6 | 51.4 | 32.7 | −$14.1B | |
| Margins & returns (%) | ||||||||||||
| Gross margin | 64.5 | 65.2 | 65.9 | 67.8 | 68.9 | 68.4 | 68.9 | 69.8 | 68.8 | 67.9 | +3.4 pts | |
| Operating margin | 30.1 | 31.8 | 34.1 | 37.0 | 41.6 | 42.1 | 41.8 | 44.6 | 45.6 | 46.8 | +16.7 pts | |
| Net margin | 26.4 | 15.0 | 31.2 | 31.0 | 36.5 | 36.7 | 34.1 | 36.0 | 36.1 | 40.3 | +13.9 pts | |
| FCF margin | 32.5 | 29.2 | 30.4 | 31.6 | 33.4 | 32.9 | 28.1 | 30.2 | 25.4 | 20.2 | -12.3 pts | |
| ROIC | 57.8 | 113.6 | 86.0 | 95.7 | 81.6 | 60.9 | 50.7 | 37.5 | 35.9 | 30.9 | -26.9 pts | |
| Return on equity | 29.1 | 20.0 | 38.3 | 37.4 | 43.2 | 43.7 | 35.1 | 32.8 | 29.6 | 30.2 | +1.2 pts | |
| R&D % of revenue | 13.5 | 13.3 | 13.4 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 12.4 | 12.8 | 12.0 | 11.5 | 10.7 | -2.8 pts | |
| Stock pay % of revenue | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.7 | +0.4 pts | |
| Capex % of revenue | 8.4 | 10.5 | 11.1 | 10.8 | 12.3 | 12.0 | 13.3 | 18.1 | 22.9 | 34.9 | +26.5 pts | |
Change uses 2017 and 2026 only: compound annual growth for amounts, points for margins and returns, and the change in amount for net cash. A dash means no 2017 base. Trend shows the fiscal years.
Moat
Moat scorecard
- Strength
- Confidence
- Structure
- Oligopoly
- Durability
- durable
- Trajectory
- widening
- Pricing power
- strong
- Agents and Infra80.8%6 claims
- Devices and Consumer19.2%3 claims
Moat claims
- Applies to
- Agents and Infra
- Confidence
- Durability
- durable
- Trajectory
- wideningas of Oct 9, 2026
Microsoft combines productivity, identity, security and AI in one suite. The September Copilot redesign brings Office files, coding and delegated work together; subscriptions cover everyday use, while complex agents add usage charges. This can expand spend inside existing accounts, but previews and paid seats do not prove renewal or customer savings. The same segment also sells Microsoft 365 to households and individuals. Consumer renewal prices and choices face separate scrutiny.
Paid Microsoft 365 Copilot seats exceeded 30 million in June 2026, broadening paid use of the suite; recast commercial cloud revenue grew 16%.
- Microsoft 365 cloud revenue$26.7B+17%
- Microsoft 365 commercial cloud revenue growth+16%
- Microsoft 365 commercial seats growth+7%
- Industry solutions cloud revenue growth+11%
- Microsoft Cloud gross margin65.0%
- Microsoft 365 Copilot paid seats≥30,000,000
- Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions–+7%
- Microsoft 365 consumer cloud revenue growth+24%
- Best-of-breed unbundling
- Regulatory scrutiny of bundling
- Open-source/low-cost suite adoption
- The open UK software-ecosystem investigation may require more customer choice, portability or licensing changes.
- UK and Australian consumer cases challenge the presentation of Copilot plan options. Redress or clearer lower-price choices could limit household subscription pricing; no infringement is assumed.
- FilingMicrosoft Annual Report 2025 (Form 10-K) - Segment description of Microsoft 365 CommercialJul 30, 2025
- FilingMicrosoft Annual Report 2025 (Form 10-K) - Microsoft 365 Consumer pricingJul 30, 2025
- ResultsMicrosoft FY26 Q4 Earnings Call - Microsoft 365 Copilot seats and ARPUJul 29, 2026
- FilingMicrosoft FY27 segments and investor metrics, recast FY2026 and FY2025Sep 2, 2026
- Applies to
- Agents and Infra
- Confidence
- Durability
- durable
- Trajectory
- wideningas of Oct 9, 2026
Microsoft 365/Office 365 is designed and accounted for as an integrated cloud+desktop offering, reflecting deep workflow interdependency that raises switching costs.
Microsoft 365 Copilot passed 30 million paid seats in June 2026, adding AI use inside established company workflows; renewal and retention remain undisclosed.
- Microsoft 365 cloud revenue$26.7B+17%
- Microsoft 365 commercial cloud revenue growth+16%
- Microsoft 365 commercial seats growth+7%
- Microsoft 365 Copilot paid seats≥30,000,000
- Fabric customers≥40,000
- GitHub Copilot users50,000,000
- GitHub Copilot paid subscribers≥4,700,000+75%
- Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions–+7%
- Microsoft 365 consumer cloud revenue growth+24%
- Interoperability improvements reduce lock-in
- Cross-platform collaboration tools lower switching friction
- Leadership changes can slow the integration of Copilot, Office and LinkedIn products; paid seats must translate into sustained use.
- FilingMicrosoft Annual Report 2025 (Form 10-K) - Revenue recognition for Office 365Jul 30, 2025
- FilingMicrosoft Annual Report 2025 (Form 10-K) - Microsoft 365 Commercial subscription componentsJul 30, 2025
- ResultsMicrosoft FY26 Q4 Earnings Call - first-party agent usageJul 29, 2026
- FilingMicrosoft FY27 segments and investor metrics, recast FY2026 and FY2025Sep 2, 2026
- Applies to
- Agents and Infra
- Confidence
- Durability
- medium
- Trajectory
- stableas of Oct 9, 2026
Enterprise subscriptions and Azure commitments protect contracted revenue during their term. Commercial RPO is a visibility measure rather than proof that customers cannot move at renewal; model-provider commitments are a large part of backlog.
Commercial RPO reached $678bn, but growth excluding OpenAI was 25%; contracts give visibility while large model-provider commitments concentrate risk.
- Commercial remaining performance obligation$678.0B
- Commercial RPO excluding OpenAI growth+25%
- Enterprise contract downsizing during downturns
- Shift toward shorter-duration SaaS procurement
- Customer pushback on renewal pricing
- OpenAI can now offer all products through rival clouds; Azure commitments do not provide exclusive access to future growth.
- Applies to
- Agents and Infra
- Confidence
- Durability
- durable
- Trajectory
- stableas of Oct 9, 2026
LinkedIn's large member graph creates a two-sided network between professionals and recruiters/advertisers; scale improves matching, content, and targeting.
LinkedIn had 1.3bn members in March 2026 and double-digit member growth for a fifth year in June; registered members do not establish recruiter retention.
- Industry solutions cloud revenue growth+11%
- LinkedIn members1.30B
- LinkedIn time spent on content growth+10%
- Engagement decline / platform fatigue
- Regulatory limits on data usage
- Competition from niche professional communities
- NewsLinkedIn Q3 FY26 Earnings & Business HighlightsApr 30, 2026
- ResultsMicrosoft FY26 Q3 Earnings Call - LinkedIn scaleApr 29, 2026
- FilingMicrosoft FY27 segments and investor metrics, recast FY2026 and FY2025Sep 2, 2026
- Applies to
- Agents and Infra
- Confidence
- Durability
- durable
- Trajectory
- stableas of Oct 9, 2026
Massive global datacenter footprint and capacity build-out create a scale advantage in compute availability, latency coverage, and unit economics, especially for AI workloads.
Microsoft added 88 datacenters in FY2026, but its cloud margin fell to 65% and infrastructure share was 20% in Q2; more capacity has not yet proved stronger relative economics.
- Azure revenue$29.4B+42%
- Azure revenue growth+42%
- Microsoft Cloud gross margin65.0%
- Cloud infrastructure revenue share20.0%
- Datacenters added88
- Capex arms race compresses returns
- Power and GPU supply constraints
- Data residency / regulatory friction slows expansion
- FilingMicrosoft Annual Report 2025 - Shareholder Letter (Cloud and AI infrastructure)Jul 30, 2025
- FilingMicrosoft Annual Report 2025 - Shareholder Letter (Capacity expansion)Jul 30, 2025
- ResultsMicrosoft FY26 Q4 Earnings Call - capital expendituresJul 29, 2026
- FilingMicrosoft FY27 segments and investor metrics, recast FY2026 and FY2025Sep 2, 2026
- Applies to
- Agents and Infra
- Confidence
- Durability
- durable
- Trajectory
- wideningas of Oct 9, 2026
Windows Server, SQL Server, Visual Studio and GitHub connect customers to Azure. GitHub reached 225 million users and Copilot 50 million users in June, expanding developer distribution. Free users do not prove paid retention, while open tooling and cloud-licensing challenges can reduce switching barriers.
Paid Fabric customers exceeded 40,000 and GitHub reached 225 million users in June 2026, broadening the application and developer base; paid retention remains undisclosed.
- Azure revenue$29.4B+42%
- Microsoft 365 cloud revenue$26.7B+17%
- Azure revenue growth+42%
- Microsoft Cloud gross margin65.0%
- Fabric customers≥40,000
- Cloud infrastructure revenue share20.0%
- GitHub users225,000,000
- GitHub Copilot users50,000,000
- GitHub Copilot paid subscribers≥4,700,000+75%
- Open-source and cloud-agnostic tooling reduces pull
- Containers/Kubernetes standardize workloads across clouds
- Potential EU cloud obligations may reduce the cost of using competing providers; the Commission position remains preliminary.
- The UK tribunal certified an opt-out Windows Server cloud-licensing damages claim. Liability and damages remain undecided, but the case challenges licensing advantages on rival clouds.
- The October PERM suspension can make it harder to retain skilled US staff who seek permanent residency. The effect on development cost and delivery is not quantified.
- FilingMicrosoft Annual Report 2025 (Form 10-K) - Intelligent Cloud segment compositionJul 30, 2025
- ResultsMicrosoft FY26 Q4 Earnings Call - Azure demand and capacityJul 29, 2026
- FilingMicrosoft FY27 segments and investor metrics, recast FY2026 and FY2025Sep 2, 2026
- SourceEuropean Commission preliminary DMA position on AWS and AzureJun 25, 2026
- Applies to
- Devices and Consumer
- Confidence
- Durability
- durable
- Trajectory
- stableas of Oct 9, 2026
Windows remains the default gateway on most PCs through OEM pre-installation, reinforcing developer and peripheral support and preserving distribution advantages.
Windows had more than 1.6bn active devices in March and 76.36% of measured desktop page views in September; its default position remains strong, but this does not establish mobile or browser dominance.
- Search and advertising revenue excluding traffic costs growth+13%
- Monthly active Windows devices≥1.60B
- Windows desktop usage share76.4%
- Shift from PCs to mobile/tablet form factors
- Regulatory constraints on default settings
- Developer focus moving to cross-platform/web
- FilingMicrosoft Annual Report 2025 (Form 10-K) - Windows OEM licensing descriptionJul 30, 2025
- SourceStatcounter worldwide desktop operating-system usage, September 2026Sep 30, 2026
- ResultsMicrosoft FY26 Q3 Earnings Call - Windows installed baseApr 29, 2026
- FilingMicrosoft FY27 segments and investor metrics, recast FY2026 and FY2025Sep 2, 2026
- Applies to
- Devices and Consumer
- Confidence
- Durability
- medium
- Trajectory
- narrowingas of Oct 9, 2026
Owned games and franchises differentiate Xbox, but studio transfers reduce the exclusive portfolio. October’s XP division seeks licensing, film and live-event revenue from retained games. Those channels can broaden returns on intellectual property, while weaker game revenue and staffing changes show that successful releases remain essential.
Xbox content and services revenue fell 10% in Q4. September studio transfers and further job cuts shrink owned content and raise execution risk before new cloud-play limits.
- Xbox content and services revenue growth-10%
- Minecraft units sold≥425,000,000
- Content cost inflation
- Hit-driven nature of gaming
- Platform shift toward mobile and streaming
- Cloud play limits and reduced day-one content can increase subscription cancellations.
- Studio transfers with their intellectual property reduce owned content; closures and reorganizations can disrupt the future release pipeline.
- Expanding games into films, merchandise and live events adds execution and capital-allocation risk; gross merchandise sales are not Microsoft revenue.
- FilingMicrosoft Annual Report 2025 - Gaming (Xbox) content descriptionJul 30, 2025
- ResultsMicrosoft FY26 Q3 Earnings Call - Xbox engagementApr 29, 2026
- FilingMicrosoft FY27 segments and investor metrics, recast FY2026 and FY2025Sep 2, 2026
- NewsXbox upcoming cloud gaming changesSep 3, 2026
- Applies to
- Devices and Consumer
- Confidence
- Durability
- durable
- Trajectory
- stableas of Oct 9, 2026
LinkedIn connects professionals with hiring teams, sellers and advertisers. Premium sells member tools for career development, business visibility and outreach. Its network supports both enterprise Talent and Sales Solutions and consumer-segment advertising and Premium subscriptions; registered members are not active or paying users.
LinkedIn reported 10% growth in time spent on content and 16% Marketing Solutions revenue growth in Q4, with Premium still growing at a double-digit rate. Paid subscriber counts and retention remain undisclosed.
- Search and advertising revenue excluding traffic costs growth+13%
- LinkedIn members1.30B
- LinkedIn Premium annual revenue≥$2.0B
- LinkedIn time spent on content growth+10%
- LinkedIn Marketing Solutions revenue growth+16%
- Engagement decline / platform fatigue
- Regulatory limits on data usage
- Competition from niche professional communities
- NewsLinkedIn Q3 FY26 Earnings & Business HighlightsApr 30, 2026
- ResultsMicrosoft FY26 Q3 Earnings Call - LinkedIn scaleApr 29, 2026
- FilingMicrosoft FY27 segments and investor metrics, recast FY2026 and FY2025Sep 2, 2026
- NewsLinkedIn Premium All-in-One launch for small businessesFeb 12, 2026
Profile change log
- Oct 9, 2026 · analyst revision
The linked market definitions now cover the full reported scope: commercial and consumer Microsoft 365 in Agents and Infra, and LinkedIn Premium professional subscriptions in Devices and Consumer. Consumer renewal risks and professional-subscription evidence extend the debate. Segment weights and claim strengths are unchanged. Gaming market facts now separate the 2025 result from the 2028 forecast.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
The US administration suspended Microsoft from the PERM permanent labor certification program. The restriction can affect staff retention; Microsoft disputes claims about its hiring practices and the business cost is unreported.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
LinkedIn introduced Premium All-in-One for small businesses, combining selling, marketing and hiring tools in one subscription and expanding paid use of the member network.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
The ACCC sued Microsoft over alleged misleading subscription choices after Copilot was added to consumer plans. The case seeks penalties and consumer redress and remains an allegation, not a final finding.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
The UK CMA opened a consumer-law investigation into Microsoft 365 Personal and Family renewal communications. Possible redress or clearer plan choices could constrain household subscription pricing; no breach has been found.
- Oct 9, 2026 · analyst revision
Developer adoption evidence now supports the ecosystem trajectory alongside Fabric customer growth. The cloud-licensing collective case adds a specific switching-cost risk. Corrected the October 7 local-model announcement from a month-end launch expectation to a rollout already under way.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
Microsoft opened Surface Laptop Ultra preorders from $2,599, with availability from October 16. NVIDIA-based local AI hardware adds a route to developer demand, while its premium price limits the initial audience.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal certified an opt-out Windows Server cloud-licensing claim against Microsoft. The case challenges licensing costs on rival clouds; liability and damages remain undecided.
- Oct 9, 2026 · analyst revision
Primary-source verification adds the Copilot rollout, non-exclusive OpenAI terms and the new Xbox franchise division to the moat evidence and debate. Removed category-only leader lists from both combined market profiles because their sources do not cover the full markets. Claim strengths, segment weights, industry, sector and company timestamps are unchanged.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
Xbox appointed Maria Angelidou-Smith as Mojang and Minecraft CEO, starting October 19. The handover affects product and monetization decisions for one of Microsoft’s largest game franchises.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
Xbox formed XP under Kayleen Walters to expand game franchises into film, licensing, partnerships and live experiences. The division creates more routes to earn from existing intellectual property, with no separate earnings outlook.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
Microsoft introduced Copilot Home, Code and Autopilot, linking Office work, coding and autonomous tasks. Preview rollouts and usage billing can expand revenue inside installed accounts, but adoption and returns remain unreported.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
Microsoft and OpenAI made their model license non-exclusive and allowed OpenAI to sell across rival clouds. Microsoft retains model rights through 2032 and capped revenue-share receipts through 2030, reducing exclusivity while preserving participation in OpenAI growth.
- Oct 9, 2026 · analyst revision
New studio, leadership and court evidence expands the business timeline and risk debate. The infrastructure trajectory is now stable: investment and revenue growth coexist with a lower cloud margin and 20% category share. September desktop usage replaces an unverified June usage citation. Both linked market profiles now show sourced category leaders and component market sizes. Claim strengths and segment weights are unchanged.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
Xbox announced consultation on a proposed Ninja Theory closure after two sale agreements failed. The decision puts the studio's future output at risk.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
Xbox confirmed Undead Labs had moved to new ownership with its intellectual property and funding; State of Decay 3 remains planned for Game Pass at launch.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
Double Fine returned to its management with its intellectual property, back catalog and funding, reducing Microsoft's owned studio portfolio.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
Compulsion Games returned to its management with its intellectual property, back catalog and funding, reducing Microsoft's owned studio portfolio.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
Xbox announced 268 more job cuts and grouped studios into fewer business units. Lower overhead may improve costs, while reorganization can slow game development.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
Ryan Roslansky left his Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn executive role and will advise Satya Nadella through year-end. Product teams move to other leaders, creating a handover risk for the Copilot and LinkedIn roadmap.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
The EU General Court upheld the decision not to designate Edge as a DMA gatekeeper. Browser distribution retains this legal exemption, but the court found its actual gateway role limited.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
The European Commission issued its preliminary view that Azure should be a DMA gatekeeper, which could impose cloud access and interoperability obligations; this is not a final designation.
- Oct 9, 2026 · analyst revision
Updated the profile to the September reported segments and recast operating metrics. Removed cloud-only and desktop-only share estimates from whole segments and removed the cloud HHI built from an assumed tail. Added trajectories, management, debate, and linked market profiles. Existing claim strengths and company timestamps are retained.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
Microsoft completed its $75.4bn Activision Blizzard purchase, expanding owned gaming content and adding acquired-intangible amortization to reported results.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
The UK CMA opened a strategic-market-status investigation into Microsoft’s business software ecosystem, creating a possible licensing and switching-cost constraint.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
Microsoft announced that local-model routing and sandboxed tools for GitHub Copilot on Windows PCs are rolling out now. Local inference can reduce cloud cost, but paid adoption remains unproven.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
Microsoft raised its declared quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, payable December 10, increasing cash returned to shareholders.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
Xbox announced monthly cloud-play limits from November: Ultimate 15 hours, Premium 10 and Essential 5. Extra hours become paid purchases, addressing delivery costs while risking subscriber dissatisfaction.
- Oct 9, 2026 · business change
Microsoft replaced its three reportable segments with Agents and Infra and Devices and Consumer and recast FY2026 and FY2025. Azure and Microsoft 365 metrics now separate infrastructure consumption from developer and security applications.
Industry & peers
Peer map
Hover a point for its values; click a peer to compare. Dashed lines: industry medians.
Global cloud, productivity and AI platforms
Worldwide cloud infrastructure; commercial and consumer productivity, developer and security applications and licenses; vertical business systems; and related consulting and support. Includes household productivity subscriptions and enterprise hiring and sales tools; excludes PC OEM devices, games, search and professional advertising, and professional-network Premium subscriptions.
| Stocks | Moat | Gross m. | Op. m. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSFT | 95 | 67.9% | 46.8% | |
| Industry median | 7 | 84 | 67.9% | 32.1% |
| Sector median | 77 | 75 | 64.9% | 23.6% |
| All stocks median | 398 | 76 | 52.9% | 19.6% |
Moat medians cover every stock. Margin medians count only stocks with collected numbers and need at least three.
Drivers & risks
- Cloud migration and increasing AI use raise demand for computing and integrated business data; installed enterprise workflows create a base for paid application upgrades.
- Security, compliance and data sovereignty favor established suppliers, while open model choice and local deployment can expand customer use.
- Employment and business investment have a medium effect on enterprise seats and migrations. Household income and affordability affect consumer subscriptions more directly; multi-year commercial commitments buffer the cycle.
- Power, accelerators and memory have a strong effect on capacity timing and delivery costs. High utilization and efficient inference decide whether infrastructure scale earns returns.
- Currency has a medium effect on global translated revenue and local budgets. Rates have a stronger effect on financing infrastructure and discounting returns from long commitments than on already contracted software.
- AWS, Google, Microsoft, Oracle and specialist suppliers can compete for workloads; interoperability and open software make parts of the platform easier to replace. Non-exclusive model supply lets competing clouds serve similar AI products.
- Large model-provider contracts concentrate backlog and power commitments; headline contracted revenue does not prove a diversified or profitable future business.
- AI compute spending can grow faster than monetization, and faster chip obsolescence can reduce returns despite strong reported revenue.
- Licensing and bundling remedies can reduce default distribution and contractual switching barriers; the open UK Microsoft investigation is a specific near-term risk. The EU cloud gatekeeper investigation also creates possible access and switching obligations; neither investigation has a final decision. A certified UK Windows Server cloud-licensing damages case also challenges the cost of running licensed software on rival clouds; liability remains undecided. Separate consumer-protection cases challenge how Copilot renewal choices were presented, putting household pricing and possible redress at risk without a finding of infringement.
- Cybersecurity failures, cloud outages, export controls and government data-access concerns can disrupt mission-critical demand and raise compliance cost. Skilled-staff availability also matters: the US PERM suspension creates an unquantified retention risk for Microsoft.
Bulls & bears
Can Microsoft turn growing AI and cloud adoption into durable cash earnings after capacity costs, while customers retain the freedom to choose competing tools?
Arguments
What to watch
- 1Recast Azure revenue and Microsoft Cloud gross margin
- 2Paid Microsoft 365 Copilot seats and recast commercial seat growth
- 3Cash capex, finance-lease additions and RPO growth excluding OpenAI
- 4Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions and LinkedIn Premium revenue
Next check: FY2027 Q1 results on October 28, 2026, followed by the CMA proposed SMS decision expected in October and Xbox cloud-hour limits expected in November. Also review the consumer subscription case update due by the end of 2026 and any change in the US PERM suspension.
Sources: company filings and dated sources collected for Find My Moat; market cap as of Oct 8, 2026. Not investment advice.
Free to reuse, commercially too, with a credit link. See the data license.
Moat Score 95/100 by <a href="https://www.findmymoat.com/stocks/XNGS:MSFT">Find My Moat</a> (as of September 2026)Request update
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Curation & Accuracy
This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).
Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.