Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
AI Stock Gets Neutral Rating Amid Microsoft Deal With Earnings Due
With C3.ai earnings due Monday, D.A. Davidson initiated for AI stock coverage with a neutral rating amid views a Microsoft deal will boost sales.
Microsoft (MSFT) Price Prediction and Forecast 2025-2030
Everyone knows Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and its best-known products, including the Windows operating system and Microsoft 365 suite of productivity apps, but its growing cloud computing platform, Azure, is the future of the company. Microsoft stock has been a millionaire maker for decades, with a stock split-adjusted IPO price of $0.14, which means at today’s stock price of $431.73, the stock is up 443605.04%. That would have turned a $1000 investment at Microsoft’s IPO into $4.44 million today. As one of the most valuable companies in the world, the only thing investors focus on is what the stock will do over the coming years. Wall Street analysts only go as far as 1 year out when giving a stock prediction. But long-term investors want to know where Microsoft might be several years down the road. 24/7 Wall Street aims to give you our assumptions on the stock and provide our insights around the numbers coming from Microsoft and which markets the company is operating in that are most exciting to us. Key Points in this Article: Key growth drivers: Azure cloud services, productivity software, and LinkedIn dominate Microsoft’s future potential. Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision boosts its gaming segment, enhancing its competitive edge in the personal computing market. If you’re looking for an AI stock early in the AI growth cycle, grab a complimentary copy of our “The Next NVIDIA” report. It has a software stock that could ride dominance in AI to returns of 10X or more. Recent Microsoft Stock Updates and News 12/3/2024 Microsoft is facing legal scrutiny once again, this time in the UK. The company is accused of abusing its market power in operating systems to charge exorbitant fees for businesses using tis software on rival cloud platforms. Filed in the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal, the lawsuit seeks over £1 billion in damages. 11/27/2024 Microsoft has partnered with Coles Group (CLEGF), an Australian retail company. The five-year deal aims to further enhance Coles’ cloud and AI capabilities. 11/26/2024 Indiana has secured an important deal with tech giants Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Google. The agreement aims to minimize the potential impact of increased energy demand from data center construction on the state’s residents. A key part of the deal requires the tech companies to contribute $1.5 million annually for five years to the Indiana Community Action Association. 11/25/2024 Over 5,300 people have reported problems with Microsoft 365 this morning, with 86% citing Outlook issues, 9% Exchange, and 6% SharePoint. Microsoft initiated a fix around 9 AM EST, and reports that 98% of users have regained access. 11/22/2024 Microsoft’s earnings outlook for the second quarter of 2025 has been lowered by Zacks Research. Analyst V. Sawalka now predicts earnings of $3.10 per share, down from the previous estimate of $3.19. 11/21/2024 Microsoft’s stock price fell 1% today, trading as low as $410.29. 11/20/2024 Next month Michael Saylor, former MicroStrategy CEO, will pitch a Bitcoin adoption plan to Microsoft’s board of directors. Saylor believes Bitcoin could be a game-changer for Microsoft, potentially generating the company’s next trillion dollars. 11/19/2024 Microsoft announced a new application server at its 2024 Ignite conference today: the Azure AI Foundry, which aims to streamline AI development. Microsoft plans to do this by consolidating Microsoft’s diverse AI models, tools, safety measures, and monitoring capabilities into a single, integrated platform. 11/18/2024 Microsoft has come under scrutiny for its business practices with the U.S. government. A recent report revealed that Microsoft pledged $150 million in cybersecurity services to the federal government in 2021, including access to the premium Microsoft 365 Government G5 suite. While this move was initially seen as an effort to bolster U.S. cybersecurity, some critics argue that it could also have anti-competitive implications, locking the U.S. government into Microsoft’s ecosystem, limiting competition, and potentially increasing costs. 11/15/2024 Microsoft is adopting a new format called CSAF as the company changes the way it shares information about security vulnerabilities. CSAF is easier for computers to read and will help organizations quickly identify and fix security problems. 11/14/2024 Microsoft is under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for potential anti-competitive behavior in its cloud computing business. The FTC is concerned that Microsoft might be using its dominant position in productivity software to unfairly limit customers’ choices, particularly with the company’s cloud services making it difficult for customers to switch to other cloud providers. Microsoft’s 10-Year Market Smashing Results Here’s a table summarizing performance in share price, revenues, and profits (net income) from 2014 to 2018. Share Price Revenues Net Income 2014 $46.16 $86.83 $22.07 2015 $46.70 $93.58 $12.19 2016 $56.21 $91.15 $20.54 2017 $72.26 $96.57 $25.49 2018 $108.04 $110.36 $16.57 2019 $138.06 $125.84 $39.24 2020 $205.01 $143.02 $44.28 2021 $286.50 $168.09 $61.27 2022 $276.41 $198.27 $72.74 2023 $330.72 $211.92 $72.36 TTM $465.39 $279.99 $86.18 Revenue and net income in $billions In the last decade, Microsoft’s revenue grew 222% while its net income went from $22.07 billion to over $86 billion (in the trailing 12 months). A big driver of profits over the past decade was Microsoft’s Intelligence cloud business, which grew 18% annually and drove operating profits of $37.88 billion in 2023 from $8.44 billion in 2014. As Microsoft looks to the second of the decade, a few key areas will determine its performance. Key Drivers of Microsoft’s Stock Performance Productivity and Business Processes: Microsoft’s Office and Dynamics 365 solutions and its LinkedIn products currently make up around one-third of the company’s revenue. Office in particular holds a near monopoly in office productivity software and most 3rd party applications have embeds, making switching costs high for this business line. LinkedIn also does not have a solid competitor in the professional networking space. High growth rates in this segment, but Microsoft has the advantage of controlling its price on its high market share products. Intelligence Cloud: Microsoft’s Azure, OpenAI, GitHub, and SQL, among other cloud businesses, make up close to half of the company’s revenue. But the crown jewel is Azure which only makes up close to 30% of Microsoft’s revenue and grew 30% over the past year alone. The future of Microsoft will depend on Azure and its competition with Amazon’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) AWS will determine which company will dominate the Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and reward shareholders handsomely in the process. Personal Computing: Windows, gaming, search, and devices are currently 25% of Microsoft’s business and this segment is the most open to competitors eroding market share. Outside of Windows, which has a solidified market share (and is not likely to dwindle), Microsoft search and devices will be facing a steep uphill battle over the coming years. Its acquisition of Activision is a positive for its gaming line but personal computing will play an ancillary part in Microsoft’s future. Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Price Prediction in 2025 The current consensus 1-year price target for Microsoft stock is $500.00, which is a 15.81% upside from today’s stock price of $431.73. Of all the analysts covering Microsoft, the stock is a consensus buy, with a 1.39 “Buy” rating. 24/7 Wall Street’s 12-month forecast projects Microsoft’s stock price to be $495. We see Azure continuing its 20+% growth and earnings per share coming in right at $11.80. Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Forecast Through 2030 Year Revenue Net Income EPS 2024 $244.97 $88.93 $13.32 2025 $278.00 $99.25 $15.67 2026 $321.63 $115.65 $18.10 2027 $370.79 $136.81 $20.40 2028 $416.08 $151.87 $22.62 2029 $453.39 $166.56 $25.45 2030 $503.13 $181.71 $28.70 Revenue and net income in $billions Microsoft Share Price Estimates 2025-2030 How Microsoft’s Next 5 Years Could Play Out We expect to see revenue growth just over 8% and EPS of $15.67 for 2025. We expect the stock to still trade at a similar multiple next year, putting our estimate for the stock price for Microsoft at $548.00 in 2025, which is 26.93% higher than the stock is trading today. Going into 2026, we estimate the price to be $633.00, with small revenue gains but margins expanding and an EPS of $18.10. We expect to see Microsoft’s P/E ratio to steep down slowly each year through 2030. The stock price estimate would represent a 46.62% gain over today’s share price of $431.73. Heading into 2027, we expect the stock price increase not to be as pronounced and earnings estimates of $20.40 per share, the stock price target for the year is $652.00. That is a 3% year-over-year gain from the previous year, but still up 51.02% from today’s stock price. When predicting more than 3 years out, we expect Microsoft’s P/E ratio to drop to 30x in 2028 but grow its top line 14%. In 2028, we have Microsoft’s revenue coming in around $420 billion and an EPS of $22.62 suggesting a stock price estimate at $678.00 or a gain of 57.36% over the current stock price. 24/7 Wall Street expects Microsoft to continue its 10% revenue growth again and to generate $12.30 per share of earnings. With a price to earnings multiple of 35, the stock price in 2029 is estimated at $687.00, or a gain of 59.13% over today’s price. Microsoft Stocks Price Target for 2030 We estimate Microsoft’s stock price to be $717.00 per share with a sub-10 % year-over-year revenue growth. Our estimated stock price will be 66.08% higher than the current stock price of $431.73. Year Price Target % Change From Current Price 2024 $495.00 Upside of 14.66% 2025 $548.00 Upside of 26.93% 2026 $633.00 Upside of 46.62% 2027 $652.00 Upside of 51.02% 2028 $678.00 Upside of 57.04% 2029 $687.00 Upside of 59.13% 2030 $717.00 Upside of 66.08% Credit Card Companies Are Doing Something Nuts Credit card companies are at war. The biggest issuers are handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers. It’s possible to find cards paying unlimited 1.5%, 2%, and even more today. That’s free money for qualified borrowers, and the type of thing that would be crazy to pass up. Those rewards can add up to thousands of dollars every year in free money, and include other benefits as well. We’ve assembled some of the best credit cards for users today. Don’t miss these offers because they won’t be this good forever. Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. The post Microsoft (MSFT) Price Prediction and Forecast 2025-2030 appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..
1 AI Stock to Buy Before It Jumps 15%, According to a Certain Wall Street Analyst
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a hot trend for investors all year, and as a result, popular AI stocks have been on a tear. Nvidia is up more than 183% so far this year.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai says he'd love to do side-by-side comparison with Microsoft's AI models
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai fired back at claims it should be further along in the AI arms race made in March by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Pichai said he'd love to do a "side-by-side comparison of Microsoft's own models and our models any day, any time.
Microsoft Is in the FTC Crosshairs
Antitrust lawyer David Balto discusses the latest probe by the FTC that puts Microsoft's tech dominance in focus. He joins Caroline Hyde to discuss on "Bloomberg Technology.
OpenAI's active user count soars to 300 million people per week
After months of C-suite changes, tender offers and a soaring valuation, OpenAI has reached a new milestone: 300 million weekly active users. Over the next year, the company is reportedly aiming to nearly 4x its current user number, targeting 1 billion.
OpenAI's Sam Altman: Microsoft partnership has been tremendously positive for both companies
Sam Altman, OpenAI co-founder and CEO, discusses a big question regarding AI right now.
MSFT, CRWD, PANW & OKTA: Cybersecurity Stocks to Watch
The cybersecurity industry has grown notably over recent years, and Joseph Gallo explains what's driving the uptrend by examining rising cyber stars to established Mag 7 names. He points to Microsoft (MSFT) as a utility used by many companies while Crowdstrike (CRWD) shines as a more "insulated" pick.
Microsoft faces UK class action over cloud bundling
Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) might be forced to compensate thousands of UK businesses if a class-action lawsuit instigated against the software giant is successful Plaintiff Maria Luisa Stasi alleges the company overcharged firms for its Windows Server software and is seeking more than £1 billion in damages. Stasi claims Microsoft penalised companies using rival cloud providers like Google and Amazon, pushing them toward its own subsidiary Azure.
Microsoft accuses FTC of leaking news of its antitrust investigation
CNBC's Steve Kovach reports on the latest development in Microsoft's antitrust investigation.
Microsoft asks FTC to address alleged information leak amid reported antitrust investigation
Microsoft wants the Federal Trade Commission to examine whether the agency violated its own rules by allegedly leaking information related to a reported antitrust investigation into the Redmond, Wash.
GOOGL "Best Positioned Mag 7 Name;" MSFT, QCOM, ASML Names to Watch
After another record close, Christopher P. Davis from Hudson Value Partners says that Alphabet (GOOGL) parts are worth more than the whole and sees the company as undervalued.
