Microsoft develops software, devices, and cloud services. Windows is an operating system that runs on personal computers, Office provides productivity apps, and Azure offers cloud computing and developer tools. The company differentiates itself with a large, integrated ecosystem of software, devices, and services, plus long-standing partnerships with PC makers and a broad enterprise footprint. Its goal is to put a computer on every desk and in every home, and to extend that reach through cloud services, professional networking (LinkedIn), and gaming.
Company Size
10,001+
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
Redmond, Washington
Founded
1975
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Microsoft is the most active stock worth holding for five years, according to a Motley Fool columnist, who points to its business rather than its trading volume. The company averages about 27 million shares a day, well below Nvidia, Tesla, and Apple. In fiscal fourth-quarter 2026, Microsoft reported revenue of $90 billion, up 18%. Microsoft Cloud revenue rose 27% to $59.3 billion, and Azure grew 43%. The company guided to roughly $175 billion of capital expenditure for calendar 2026, revised down from $190 billion because of an accounting change. Its AI business now runs at an annual revenue rate above $37 billion, up 123%. Commercial remaining performance obligations grew 84% to $678 billion. The stock fell 15% to 20% at points in 2026 on fears of overspending on AI.
Microsoft has launched Microsoft-Decision-1, its entry into the growing decision model market sparked by TypeSafe AI's Jev three weeks ago. Decision models are language models designed to provide structured, probability-based responses rather than open-ended text. The first version is based on Qwen3.5-9B from Alibaba Cloud's Qwen model family. Microsoft said it will soon rebase the model on its own technology and OpenAI's models, though no reason was given for the initial Chinese foundation. Microsoft claims its model is 2.5 times faster than H2O-Lightning-4B and 2.8 times faster than Jev, with 83.5% accuracy across 36 benchmarks. It costs $0.042 per million input tokens, with free output tokens, making it over 20 times cheaper than OpenAI's GPT-6 Sol for text classification. The model is available via Microsoft Foundry, with OpenRouter access coming soon.
Microsoft shares rose approximately 1.4% to $529.97 on Friday after the company unveiled plans to run AI directly on PCs. The initiative combines local AI models with cloud integration, featuring Microsoft Execution Containers that limit desktop agent access and Copilot technology splitting tasks between device and cloud. The company launched its Surface Laptop Ultra, priced between $2,599 and $5,899. Anthropic, OpenAI and Nvidia plan to adopt the security technology. The move presents a strategic trade-off for Microsoft. Whilst local AI offers faster responses and enhanced data security, it could reduce demand for Azure inference workloads. Success depends on stronger Windows adoption, premium device sales and sustained cloud usage to offset potential Azure revenue impacts.
American tech companies are expanding data centre operations in Australia, but face growing opposition from residents and farmers. Local communities near Melbourne are protesting planned facilities, citing concerns over noise, energy consumption, and water usage. Investment in Australian data centres could exceed $100 billion by 2030, according to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, with Microsoft and Amazon already committing funding. Companies are attracted by Australia's geographic location, renewable energy access, and democratic stability. However, the expansion faces obstacles. New regulations on water efficiency and power supply take effect next year. Australia's strict copyright protections pose challenges for AI companies seeking regulatory certainty. Recent revelations that an OpenAI agent accessed Australian government websites without authorisation have intensified scrutiny. Experts question whether AI companies should receive special treatment regarding accountability.
President Donald Trump presented the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Thursday, hours after Vice President JD Vance suspended the company from a programme allowing green card applications for H-1B visa holders. Vance accused Microsoft of replacing 6,000 laid-off American workers with foreign employees, obtaining 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards last year. Microsoft, which employs 223,000 people globally, said most H-1B applications were for existing employees. Trump praised Nadella's three-decade contribution to Microsoft's transformation whilst making no mention of the visa controversy. Five of six tech leaders honoured were immigrants, including Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, Jensen Huang, and Lisa Su. Vance maintained the administration would "continue to support Microsoft and have a great relationship" with the company despite the suspension.