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

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Equities research analysts at William Blair lifted their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Microsoft in a report released on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair analyst J. Ader now anticipates that the software giant will earn $3.21 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $3.09. The consensus estimate for Microsoft’s current full-year earnings is $12.89 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.38% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MSFT. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.96.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $415.06 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $385.58 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $432.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $424.61.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,080,578.32. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Joel Adams & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $720,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 148,268 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $62,495,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349 shares in the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 12,075 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,090,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Timber Creek Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 39,541 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,667,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.