What You Need to Know – TradingView News

Microsoft Corporation MSFTbased in Redmond, Washington, provides software, services, and solutions that enhance productivity worldwide. The company’s products, valued at $3.47 trillion by market capitalization, include operating systems for computing devices, servers, phones, server applications for distributed computing environments, productivity applications, business solution applications, video games, etc. MSFT also offers cloud-based solutions. The tech giant is expected to announce its financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2024 on Tuesday, July 23.

Ahead of the event, analysts expect MSFT to report earnings of $2.90 per share on a diluted basis, up 7.8% from $2.69 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has consistently topped Wall Street estimates for earnings per share in its last four quarterly reports. In the previous quarter, MSFT announced new Surface PCs and introduced new cybersecurity services. It also said it would start selling its Microsoft 365 Copilot AI add-on to enterprises starting Nov. 1.

Analysts expect MSFT to post earnings per share of $11.77 in fiscal 2024, up 20% from earnings per share of $9.81 in fiscal 2023.

MSFT shares have outpaced the S&P 500 ($SPX) by 16.8% YTD, and the stock is up 24.1% in that time frame. It has also outpaced the S&P 500 Technology Sector SPDR (XLK) by 22.5% in the same period.

MSFT shares closed up more than 2% on April 26 after the company announced its third-quarter results. Revenue was $61.86 billion, up 17% year over year and topping the consensus estimate of $60.87 billion. Earnings per share were $2.94, topping Wall Street’s forecast of $2.81. The company’s strong third-quarter results were driven by growth in its Intelligence Cloud, Productivity and Business Processes, and More Personal Computing segments. MSFT shares have been on an uptrend since the company announced its third-quarter results on April 25.

MSFT’s overall performance can be attributed to its solid third-quarter results and solid fourth-quarter guidance. The company expects revenue of $63.5 billion to $64.5 billion in the current quarter and projects double-digit revenue growth in fiscal 2025. Additionally, the company remains well-positioned to capitalize on AI demand given its investment in OpenAI. It has already integrated AI into its various offerings. MSFT said near-term AI demand is slightly higher than capacity, indicating room for further growth.

Analysts are unanimously bullish on MSFT stock, with an overall rating of “Strong Buy.” Of the 38 analysts covering the stock, 34 recommend a “Strong Buy” rating, three have a “Moderate Buy” rating, and one recommends a “Hold.” The average analyst price target for MSFT is $494, indicating a 6% potential upside from current levels.

On the date of publication, Dipanjan Banchur did not hold (directly or indirectly) a position in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is for informational purposes only. For more information, please refer to Barchart’s Disclosure Policy here.