MSFT - Microsoft Corporation
| Previous Close | 148.06 |
| Open | 148.93 |
| Bid | 149.93 x 1100 |
| Ask | 149.97 x 1000 |
| Day's Range | 148.27 - 149.99 |
| 52 Week Range | 93.96 - 149.99 |
| Volume | 23,508,807 |
| Avg. Volume | 22,768,939 |
| Market Cap | 1.144T |
| Beta (3Y Monthly) | 1.23 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 28.30 |
| EPS (TTM) | 5.30 |
| Earnings Date | Jan 28, 2020 - Feb 3, 2020 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | 2.04 (1.38%) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | 2019-11-20 |
| 1y Target Est | 160.16 |
- Financial Times
Google’s Stadia takes aim at $130bn video game market
This year’s most hotly anticipated launch in the world of computer games is not a new console, or even a new title. Google on Tuesday will launch Stadia, a service that will stream an initial 10 computer games across 14 countries at launch. While Nintendo’s Switch sold a huge 1.5m units in its opening weekend in 2017, Google suggests that it will have a potential customer base of hundreds of millions from day one across North America and Western Europe.
- Quartz
What do “billionaire tears” taste like?
The wealthiest Americans are crying about Elizabeth Warren's tax proposals. Her campaign is selling mugs of "billionaire tears."
- MarketWatch
This is what the net worth of the world’s elite would look like if Elizabeth Warren’s tax plan had been in effect since 1982
The world’s uber wealthy would certainly take a significant hit under Elizabeth Warren’s tax plan, but even if her proposal were in place for decades, the fortunes of men like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Microsoft founder Bill Gates would still be firmly intact, according to a website founded by two UC Berkeley economists.
- Benzinga
Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Apple, Disney, Microsoft, Uber And More
Benzinga has examined the prospects for many investor favorite stocks over the past week. Bullish calls included a couple of software stocks and a mining giant. As usual, Benzinga continues to examine the prospects for many of the stocks most popular with investors.
- Insider Monkey
5 Mega Cap Stocks Hedge Funds Are Crazy About
One of the best tools for ordinary investors who are on the hunt for new ideas is 13F filings. Hedge funds hire some of the smartest Ivy League graduates as their analysts, have access to industry insiders whom they "consult" with, unconventional data sources that cost tens of thousands of dollars, years of experience and […]
- Reuters
Microsoft to probe work of Israeli facial recognition startup it funded
AnyVision, based outside Tel Aviv, has come under scrutiny following reports by Haaretz's TheMarker business newspaper and NBC News that its technology is used to surveil Palestinians who live in the occupied West Bank. AnyVision, which denied to NBC such use of its services, did not respond to a request for comment. The probe reflects growing unease about facial recognition surveillance in the United States and elsewhere that civil liberties groups say could lead to unfair arrests and limit freedom of expression.
- Benzinga
JEDI Mind Tricks: Esper Says Cloud Computing Contract Fair As Politics Cloud Efforts To Evaluate Amazon, Microsoft
The head of the Defense Department on Friday said there was no bias in the agency’s awarding of an enormous $10 billion cloud computing contract known as JEDI to Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT). President Donald Trump is a vocal critic of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, in part because of his ownership of The Washington Post, which Trump considers overly critical.
- Bloomberg
Bill Gates Tops Jeff Bezos as World’s Richest Person With Amazon Slide
(Bloomberg) -- This time it’s official.Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates overtook Amazon.com Inc.’s Jeff Bezos as the world’s richest person on Friday, reclaiming the top ranking for the first time in more than two years.Gates may have been helped in part by the Pentagon’s surprise decision announced Oct. 25 to award a $10 billion cloud-computing contract to Microsoft over Amazon. Shares of Microsoft have since climbed 4%, giving Gates a $110 billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Amazon’s stock is down about 2% since the announcement, putting Bezos’s net worth at $108.7 billion.Gates, 64, had briefly topped Bezos, 55, on an intraday basis last month after Amazon posted its first profit drop in two years, but shares of the world’s biggest online retailer pared the decline. The index, which tracks the wealth of the richest 500 people, is updated each trading day after U.S. markets close. Europe’s richest person, Bernard Arnault, is third with $102.7 billion.Read more: Microsoft Shares Surge After Controversial Pentagon Contract WinMicrosoft has surged 48% this year, boosting the value of Gates’s 1% stake. The rest of his wealth is derived from share sales and investments made over the years by his family office, Cascade.Bezos would be far richer if he and MacKenzie Bezos hadn’t divorced. The pair announced their split in January, with MacKenzie, 49, receiving a quarter of their Amazon holdings in July. Her net worth dipped to $35 billion on Friday. Gates, on the other hand, may have never relinquished the top spot were it not for his philanthropy. He has donated more than $35 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation since 1994.Gates recently shared his thoughts on the wealth tax that’s been proposed by some Democratic presidential candidates, including Elizabeth Warren, saying he’s already paid more than $10 billion in taxes."If I’d had to pay $20 billion, it’s fine," he said. But "when you say I should pay $100 billion, then I’m starting to do a little math about what I have left over.”As of today, that would be $10 billion.(Updates with Gates comments on wealth tax starting in seventh paragraph.)\--With assistance from Sophie Alexander.To contact the reporter on this story: Tom Metcalf in London at tmetcalf7@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Pierre Paulden at ppaulden@bloomberg.net, Peter Eichenbaum, Steven CrabillFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
SoftBank's Second Vision Fund Is Starting Life a Lot Smaller Than the First
(Bloomberg) -- SoftBank Group Corp. has quietly completed an initial money-raising push for its second technology fund, at a fraction of its targeted $108 billion.The Japanese company has raised roughly $2 billion for the second Vision Fund so it can start backing startups, according to two people familiar with the matter. This stage of the fund-raising process is known as a first close, and SoftBank will continue gathering commitments. A Vision Fund spokesman declined to comment.SoftBank said in July that its second Vision Fund would be even larger than the first, which broke records in 2017 by raising almost $100 billion. This time around, SoftBank has said it is taking more control, committing $38 billion of its own capital and replacing Saudi Arabia, which was the largest investor in the first fund.So far, it is unclear whether there are any outside investors in the second fund. The original Vision Fund was announced in October 2016, but took another seven months for its first major closing with $93 billion in commitments.Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co., which contributed $45 billion and $15 billion, respectively, to the first fund, are reconsidering how much to put into the new fund, Bloomberg News previously reported.Talks with Saudi Arabia are still ongoing, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. Mubadala recently told Bloomberg News it had yet to decide on whether it would invest.SoftBank has said the second fund is also expected to collect money from Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Foxconn Technology Group and the sovereign wealth fund of Kazakhstan.SoftBank’s second Vision Fund has made at least one investment already. It recently participated in a financing round for Chinese online property listing service Beike Zhaofang, people with knowledge of the matter said. The company previously raised $800 million from investors in March, Caixin reported at the time. A representative for Beike was not immediately reachable for comment.WeWork and Uber Technologies Inc., two of the largest investments made by SoftBank and the first Vision Fund, have performed poorly this year. A recent summary of the first Vision Fund portfolio showed that the fair value of the fund’s stakes in transportation and logistics companies was $31.1 billion as of Sept. 30, just below the cost of those investments. The fair value of the fund’s real estate investments was $7.5 billion, below the $9 billion cost.That’s prompted some soul-searching at the Japanese company.“There was a problem with my own judgment, that’s something I have to reflect on,” SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son said.(Updates with a recent Vision Fund investment in eighth paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Gillian Tan in New York at gtan129@bloomberg.net;Giles Turner in London at gturner35@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net, Alistair Barr, Andrew PollackFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Investor's Business Daily
Microsoft Stock: Sell Into Strength For Swing Trading?
Selling into strength isn't easy. You often feel like you're leaving money on the table. So how did we handle swing trading Microsoft stock?
- Bloomberg
Google Gets Supreme Court Hearing in Oracle Copyright Clash
(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal from Alphabet Inc.’s Google in a multibillion-dollar clash that has divided Silicon Valley, agreeing to decide whether the company improperly used copyrighted programming code owned by Oracle Corp. in the Android operating system.The justices said they’ll review a federal appeals court’s conclusion that Google violated Oracle’s copyrights. Oracle says it’s entitled to at least $8.8 billion in damages.The case, which the court will resolve by July, promises to reshape the U.S. legal protections for software code, particularly the interfaces that let programs and devices communicate with one another. Google contends the appeals court ruling would make it harder to use interfaces to develop new applications.The ruling “has upended the computer industry’s longstanding expectation that developers are free to use software interfaces to build new computer programs,” Google argued.The appeals court decision reversed a jury finding that Google’s copying was a legitimate “fair use” of Oracle’s Java programming language.“There is nothing fair about taking a copyrighted work verbatim and using it for the same purpose and function as the original in a competing platform,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said in a 3-0 ruling.At issue are pre-written directions known as application program interfaces, or APIs, which provide instructions for such functions as connecting to the internet or accessing certain types of files. By using those shortcuts, programmers don’t have to write code from scratch for every function in their software, or change it for every type of device.Oracle says the Java APIs are freely available to those who want to build applications that run on computers and mobile devices. But the company says it requires a license to use the shortcuts for a competing platform or to embed them in an electronic device.“We are confident the Supreme Court will preserve long established copyright protections for original software and reject Google’s continuing efforts to avoid responsibility for copying Oracle’s innovations,” said Deborah Hellinger, an Oracle spokeswoman. “In the end, a finding that Google infringed Oracle’s original works will promote, not stifle, future innovation.”Oracle says Google was facing an existential threat because its search engine -- the source of its advertising revenue -- wasn’t being used on smartphones. Google bought the Android mobile operating system in 2005 and copied Java code to attract developers but refused to take a license, Oracle contends.‘Incalculable’ Harm“Naturally, it inflicted incalculable market harm on Oracle,” Oracle told the Supreme Court. “This is the epitome of copyright infringement, whether the work is a news report, a manual, or computer software.”Android generated $42 billion for Google between 2007 and 2016, according to Oracle court filings. Google said it welcomed the court’s decision to review the case.“We hope that the court reaffirms the importance of software interoperability in American competitiveness,” said Google’s chief legal officer, Kent Walker. “Developers should be able to create applications across platforms and not be locked into one company’s software.”At the Supreme Court, Google argues that software interfaces are categorically ineligible for copyright protection. Google also contends that the Federal Circuit restricted the “fair use” defense to copyright infringement so much as to make it impossible for a developer to reuse an interface in a new application.“What Oracle is seeking here is nothing less than complete control over a community of developers that have invested in learning the free and open Java language,” Google argued.The Trump administration is backing Oracle at the Supreme Court and urged the justices to reject the appeal. Microsoft Corp., Mozilla Corp. and Red Hat Inc. are among the companies that urged the Supreme Court to give Google a hearing.The appeal encompasses two decisions by the Federal Circuit in the six-year-long battle. The first is a 2014 decision that the programming language can be copyrighted, and the second is a 2018 ruling that overturned the jury’s verdict of “fair use.” The Supreme Court had previously rejected Google’s petition over the 2014 decision.If Oracle wins, the case will go back to a federal jury in California, where the only issue will be how much Google should pay in damages. Should Google win on either question, that would end the case.The case is Google v. Oracle America, 18-956.(Updates with company comments beginning in ninth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Naomi Nix.To contact the reporters on this story: Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.net;Susan Decker in Washington at sdecker1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wasserman, Jon MorganFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- American City Business Journals
What to watch for in the JEDI protest case? Bias depositions
Amazon Web Services’ intention to protest in the Court of Federal Claims last month’s award of the potential $10 billion JEDI contract is expected to hinge on comments President Trump has made about the contract.
- Zacks
Low-Volatility and Quality ETFs: What Investors Need to Know
We discuss why investors have been rushing into low-volatility and quality funds this year.
- GuruFocus.com
Dodge & Cox Buys Encana, Acquires More Occidental
A look at the mutual fund’s third-quarter portfolio updates Continue reading...
- Benzinga
Microsoft Option Trader Bets $1M On 10% More Upside
Shares of Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) are up 47.2% in 2019 as the company’s cloud services business continues to gain steam. On Friday, Benzinga Pro subscribers received nine option alerts related to unusually large trades of Microsoft options. At 9:51 a.m., a trader sold 824 Microsoft call options with a $148 strike price expiring on Nov. 29 near the bid price at $1.73.
- Zacks
3 Semiconductor Stocks to Buy After Strong Earnings on 2020 Chip Growth
We searched for semiconductor stocks utilizing our Zacks Stock Screener that investors might want to consider buying ahead of what could be a strong year for chip companies in 2020...
- InvestorPlace
Have the Gains in Advanced Micro Devices Stock Reached Their Limit?
It has been a challenging year for many American chipmakers, but you'd never know it from the performance of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD). Despite being the underdog in the fiercely competitive CPU and GPU markets, despite the collapse last fall of the crypto currency market and despite the trade war between the U.S. and China, AMD stock has been a top performer in 2019.Source: Joseph GTK / Shutterstock.com After another 2.21% pop to close at $38.35 on Thursday -- its highest level in 13 years -- Advanced Micro Devices stock is now up nearly 108% for the year.However, if you haven't yet got in on the AMD action, now probably isn't the time to do so.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips AMD Stock Pops on EPYC Server NewsAdvanced Micro Devices has been making real progress against Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) in the PC processor market. In Q3, the company hit one third of the global marketshare for computer CPUs for the first time in 12 years. AMD also scored a symbolic victory over Intel when Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced it was using a custom AMD Ryzen chip in its new 15-inch Surface Laptop 3.But what triggered this week's pop in AMD stock was on the server front -- another area where AMD is making inroads against Intel's domination. * 10 Cheap Stocks to Buy Under $10 On Nov. 12, it was announced that Chinese internet giant Tencent (OTCMKTS:TCEHY) is now using AMD EPYC servers for its cloud services. The move to the AMD servers will reportedly save Tencent big money. AMD says that the EPYC servers deployed at Tencent are 50% more energy efficient under maximum load, while delivering overall performance gains of 35%. With 1.1 million servers already in operation and rapid growth, the Tencent announcement has been enough to propel the price of AMD stock over 5% since the news hit. What Does 2020 Look Like for AMD?A lot of things have been going AMD's way in 2019, helping the company to bounce back from last year's crypto-collapse shock. When the bottom of that market fell out, AMD stock dropped 47% in just five weeks. However, a repeat of 2019's triple-digit growth doesn't seem likely. In fact, among the 33 analysts polled by CNN Business, the consensus for this high-flying tech stock is "hold" with a median 12-month price target of $35 -- a downside of 8.7%. Why the pessimism?First, that massive growth in AMD's stock price in 2019 has in large part been recovery from the spectacular collapse last year. With AMD performing so well this year, continued growth will be tougher to justify.Intel will make that job more difficult for AMD. Advanced Micro Devices has gained marketshare against Intel because of compelling chip design; however, Intel has also suffered chip shortages this year that has led to some PC manufacturers choosing AMD instead. Intel announced it is ramping up production capacity by 25% in 2020 to address that shortfall. In addition, Intel's new 10nm chips are now shipping in volume. * 7 Troubled Dividend Stocks With Yields Too Good to Be True In other words, AMD was able to take full advantage of Intel's weaknesses in 2019, but next year, the battle for PC processor supremacy is expected to be a tougher one. Intel is also set to play spoiler in the graphics card market. AMD has been wresting marketshare from Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) in 2019. In the third quarter, the company shipped more video cards than Nvidia for the first time since 2014. Nvidia is fighting back with new "Super" versions of its card and price-cutting, so expect 2020 to see an epic battle between the two. Intel comes into play in 2020 because for the first time, the company will release a discrete graphics card -- the Intel Xe.That means next year, AMD will be taking on both Nvidia and Intel in the battle for graphic card marketshare. This year has been a great year for Advanced Micro Devices. If you bought AMD stock after the 2018 disaster, you are sitting on a very nice gain. But the factors that helped propel AMD this year won't necessarily be in play next year, and a re-invigorated Intel is set to make things tougher for Advanced Micro Devices on multiple fronts.So don't buy AMD stock now expecting next year to be a repeat performance.As of this writing, Brad Moon did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 7 Silver and Gold Stocks to Buy That Offer Contrarian Upside * 7 Earnings Reports to Watch Next Week * 5 Online Retail Stocks to Buy on the Dip The post Have the Gains in Advanced Micro Devices Stock Reached Their Limit? appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- MarketWatch
Amazon plans to protest award of $10 billion cloud-computing contract to Microsoft
Amazon.com Inc. plans to protest the award last month of a 10-year, $10 billion Pentagon cloud-computing contract to Microsoft Corp. that many assumed would go to Amazon.
- MarketWatch
This forecast predicts barely any growth in U.S. stocks next year — and a big drop if there’s a recession
Financial markets are overvalued, according to an Oxford Economics forecast, so don’t expect much in the way of gains for stocks even if a recession is avoided.
- Yahoo Finance
Why Amazon is fighting the Pentagon over a controversial $10 billion contract awarded to Microsoft
Amazon is protesting the Pentagon's decision to award Microsoft a $10 billion DoD contract.
- Investing.com
Stocks- S&P 500 Soars to 6th Weekly Gain
Investing.com – Stocks surged Friday setting new closing and intraday highs, as investors cheered decent economic news and were relieved when the White House said trade negotiations with China were progressing.
- GuruFocus.com
TCI Fund Bulks Up on Alphabet in 3rd Quarter
A look at Christopher Hohn's market-beating hedge fund Continue reading...
- Yahoo Finance Video
Amazon protests pentagon's cloud contract to Microsoft
Amazon is protesting the pentagon's award of a massive cloud-computing contract to Microsoft. Loop Capital Research Analyst Anthony Chukumba, joined Yahoo Finance's On The Move to discuss.
- Yahoo Finance Video
Amazon protests Pentagon's decision to give $10B cloud contract to Microsoft
Amazon is protesting the Pentagon's decision to award a $10 billion dollar cloud-computing contract to Microsoft. Amazon claims the deal was marred by "errors and unmistakable bias." Yahoo Finance's Adam Shapiro, Julie Hyman, Brian Cheung, Scott Gamm and Dan Howley discuss.
