What is William Blair’s Estimate for Microsoft Q3 Earnings?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Analysts at William Blair boosted their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Microsoft in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair analyst J. Ader now forecasts that the software giant will post earnings per share of $3.21 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $3.09. The consensus estimate for Microsoft’s current full-year earnings is $13.03 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Microsoft’s Q4 2025 earnings at $3.29 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $13.03 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $15.02 EPS.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer cut Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $412.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft has a 52 week low of $385.58 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $432.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $424.21. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management grew its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 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.