Research Analysts Issue Forecasts for Microsoft Q2 Earnings

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Equities research analysts at Wedbush cut their Q2 2025 earnings estimates for Microsoft in a report released on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush analyst D. Ives now expects that the software giant will post earnings per share of $3.24 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $3.31. Wedbush has a “Underperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Microsoft’s current full-year earnings is $13.02 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Microsoft’s Q3 2025 earnings at $3.34 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $3.58 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $13.46 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $3.59 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $3.70 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.93 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $4.16 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $15.38 EPS.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.22. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 35.73%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.99 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. KeyCorp upped their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $406.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $420.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $424.58. Microsoft has a 52-week low of $334.69 and a 52-week high of $468.35.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $75,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total value of $7,157,129.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,843,807.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.75%.

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.