A RECAP OF MICROSOFT PERFORMANCE UP TO PRESENT

When it comes to technology discussions, Microsoft is definitely a prominent name even before, despite fluctuations in its figures since its IPO in 1986. The company’s peak years came during the tech boom in 1990s up to early 2000s, which was followed by a decline due to a recession. As of present, its stock is close to beating its previous record, fueled by modernization and the rise of alterations such as cloud features and acquisitions which was expected by analysts to drive the stock to a long term high.

Although hurt by the the financial crisis before, the firm touts their now stronger and more efficient fundamentals. It is currently trading at $59.97 per share, and has displayed a remarkable performance in the recent years, rising from a record low $16.10 to $50-$56 with each share for the majority of 2016. Despite a slowdown in EPS lately, the business stock price managed to advance, largely due to the growing confidence on its cloud capabilities and the new team that occupies the management sector. Several analysts also have a forecast that these two factors will be the key players to lift the corporation’s stock appreciation.

However, despite the positive impact of its cloud venture, the foray is also one of the reasons of lagging earnings since the conversion replaced low margin revenue have replace the high ones during the process. Still, analysts remain optimistic, saying there are many untapped potential in sector and expects it to drive profit higher in the future. This prediction is based on the cloud’s ability to help Microsoft’s office and server offerings reach a wide variety of customers, and use the pricing power benefit at the same time to boost revenue. Since the two aforementioned services are considered as the business’ core competences, it will help attract investors and raise their confidence simultaneously.

A change of executive also also bolstered not just the firm’s figures but also its image because of the new skills and talent in the field. Another element of company’s continuous rising are its takeovers, particularly the procurement of LinkedIn, which is set to be completed before the year ends. The social networking site’s 86.1% gross margin will be an expansion for Microsoft, although the expenses of the transaction may impact EPS. The drop may be recovered though, as the team up of both businesses will ramp up utilization and trim down costs as well.