Griffin Securities Predicts Weaker Earnings for Microsoft

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Griffin Securities cut their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for Microsoft in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, October 31st. Griffin Securities analyst J. Vleeschhouwer now anticipates that the software giant will post earnings per share of $3.15 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $3.24. The consensus estimate for Microsoft’s current full-year earnings is $12.98 per share. Griffin Securities also issued estimates for Microsoft’s Q3 2025 earnings at $3.18 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $3.37 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $13.00 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $3.45 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $3.64 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.80 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.74 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $14.63 EPS.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.03.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $410.37 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.86, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.91. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $344.77 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $420.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $424.71.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 22,741 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,567,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. GuoLine Advisory Pte Ltd raised its stake in Microsoft by 5.2% during the first quarter. GuoLine Advisory Pte Ltd now owns 240,900 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $101,351,000 after purchasing an additional 11,800 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 46,866 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $19,717,000 after purchasing an additional 8,475 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 25.9% in the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 11,736 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,938,000 after buying an additional 2,413 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 51,909 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $22,088,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.