Microsoft Corporation

MSFT

Software - Infrastructure · Technology

Price

$483.24

+2.09 (+0.43%)

Market Cap

$3.59T

Exchange

NASDAQ

Winston Score

Winston is happy

A high-quality business with solid fundamentals.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Exceptional

Growth

Exceptional

Cash Flow

Exceptional

Stability

Exceptional

Valuation

Strong

Dividends

Mixed

Track this stock — start free trial

Share count falling — buybacks

−1.2% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 7.54B (2022) → 7.45B (2026)

Winston Score History

The full picture

Microsoft makes software, cloud services, and devices used by billions of people and businesses around the world. Its most well-known products include Windows, the Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), and the Xbox gaming platform. It also owns LinkedIn, the professional networking site, and GitHub, a platform used by software developers.

Microsoft earns money through software subscriptions, cloud computing services, advertising, and hardware sales. Its Azure cloud platform competes directly with Amazon Web Services and is one of the largest cloud businesses in the world, giving Microsoft a strong foothold in enterprise technology. The company operates globally, with revenue spread across consumers, large corporations, and governments. With a gross margin near 68%, Microsoft's software and cloud businesses generate highly profitable recurring revenue. The key growth driver is continued expansion of Azure and AI-powered tools like Copilot, though rising competition in cloud and potential regulatory scrutiny over its AI partnerships remain notable risks.

Politician Trades

135 trades / 12mo

71 Congressional buys and 64 sells on MSFT in the last 12 months.

Unlock the full Smart Money Map — every trade plotted on the price chart with politicians, amounts and returns since each trade. Founder's Deal is $57/mo locked for life.

Unlock politician trades

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+17.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

+31.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

R&D Spend

$35.6B/ year

↑ Rising (+9% vs prior year)

10.7% of revenue

Below sector average (15%)

Investing heavily in future products and technology

Insider Activity

0.1%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$113.2B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth + cash flow

Microsoft Corporation is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 18%. The Winston Score doesn't fully credit this transition from "burner" to "earner."

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

67.2%

Premium pricing power — 67.2% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

45.1%

Excellent — 45.1% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

32.2%

Exceptional — 32.2% return on capital

ROIC above 25%. Every dollar invested in the business earns more than 25 cents back per year.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

+17.8%

Fast-growing sales (+17.8% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

+31.5%

Earnings growing fast (+31.5% YoY)

Earnings growing 25%+ a year. The compounder zone.

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

8/8 quarters

Every recent quarter grew earnings vs last year

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

137%

Turns 137% of profit into real cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

20.2%

Converts sales into free cash efficiently (20.2%)

Free cash flow margin above 20%. Out of every $100 in sales, more than $20 is real cash they keep.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

0.09

Conservative — low debt load (0.09)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

50.88x

Comfortably covers interest (50.9x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

26.8x

Growth-priced — P/E 26.8

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

+10.0

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (26.8 → 16.9)

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Dividends

Dividend

Dividend Yield

0.75%

Small dividend — 0.75% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend record

Dividend Growth

+9.6%

Dividend growing modestly (9.6% YoY)

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

🔒 See full fundamentals and if they are improving or declining — click here for your free trial now.

Start free trial