Equities Analysts Set Expectations for Microsoft Q2 Earnings

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Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) - Investment analysts at DA Davidson issued their Q2 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Microsoft in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, October 30th. DA Davidson analyst G. Luria anticipates that the software giant will earn $3.97 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Microsoft's current full-year earnings is $13.08 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Microsoft's FY2027 earnings at $18.13 EPS.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 35.71%.Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. Microsoft has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS.

• Equinix Stock Rises Despite Lower Revenue Guidance

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DZ Bank restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $634.67.

View Our Latest Research Report on MSFT

Microsoft Stock Performance

• Why Microsoft's Post-Earnings Dip Is a Buy-the-Pause Moment

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $525.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $513.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $485.93. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 24.34%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter worth $16,884,000. Inlet Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the third quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,590 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $20,505,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 1,261,511 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $653,400,000 after buying an additional 15,800 shares in the last quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% in the third quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 7,111 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,683,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the third quarter. Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC now owns 9,365 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,851,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.

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