Microsoft Raises Quarterly Dividend 8% to $0.98 Per Share

โดย Insider Monkey·US·Read original
Summary · why it matters

Microsoft's board approved an 8% increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, payable December 10, extending a streak of annual dividend increases that now spans more than 20 years. The payout has climbed from $1.56 a share in 2017 to $3.64 for fiscal 2026, supported by cash from operations that rose $46.8 billion to $182.9 billion for fiscal year 2026. Azure and other cloud services grew 43% in the fourth quarter, but the company's aggressive spending on artificial intelligence and data-center infrastructure is pressuring free cash flow and cloud margins, a risk that could slow future dividend increases and buybacks if AI monetization lags. Hedge fund holders of the stock fell to 273 in the second quarter from 282 in the first, though Arrowstreet Capital raised its stake 14% to $10.31 billion and Fisher Asset Management lifted its position 3% to $9.92 billion, while short interest eased to 74.45 million shares as of August 31 from 81.31 million on July 31.

Impact on assets 1

Artificial Intelligence▲ · 1 stocks
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT
▲ PositiveCapitalrelevance

Microsoft's board approved an 8% quarterly dividend increase to $0.98 per share, extending its 20+ year streak of annual dividend hikes.

Theme Impact 4

Off-coverage companies 1

Arrowstreet CapitalPrivate± Mixed
relevance

Related news

▲

NEC to Upgrade Ohio Biometric ID System to Integra-ID 7 SaaS Platform

NEC Corporation announced that the Ohio Attorney General's Office, through the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, is upgrading its biometric identification system to NEC's next-generation Integra-ID 7 Software-as-a-Service platform, hosted within the Microsoft Azure Government Cloud environment. The large-scale modernization project transitions the State of Ohio's existing on-premises Integra-ID MBIS environment to a fully managed SaaS architecture, began in 2026, and is anticipated to be completed in less than nine months. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation operates Ohio's Automated Biometric Identification System, known as OABIS, which today contains more than 6 million biometric records, over 41 million events associated with approximately 25 million subjects, connectivity to nearly 600 livescan systems, and integration with eight local AFIS systems and the FBI Next Generation Identification system. NEC previously deployed a successful AFIS replacement project for the State of Ohio in 2021 following a competitive procurement process, replacing both the legacy AFIS and Computerized Criminal History systems. Eugene le Roux, Senior Vice President of NEC National Security Systems, Inc., said the project reinforces NEC's commitment to helping public safety agencies adopt secure, scalable SaaS biometric solutions, with Integra-ID 7 built on NEC's SaaS platform and powered by its everBlu continuous innovation framework.
6701.JPMSFT
Cloud & Digital Infrastructure ▲
Business Wire·51mRead more →
▼3

Amazon Blocks Meta's Muse AI Agent From Shopping on Its Site

Amazon has blocked Meta Platforms' Muse AI agent from shopping on its retail site, escalating a broader fight over who controls the customer relationship as autonomous AI agents begin handling more online purchases. Amazon said Muse has been blocked since Sunday and is part of a wider restriction on third-party shopping agents; OpenAI's ChatGPT, Alphabet's Gemini and Perplexity's Comet are also prohibited from shopping directly on Amazon. Amazon spokesperson Lara Hendrickson said third-party applications that offer to make purchases on behalf of customers from other businesses should operate openly and respect service provider decisions about whether or not to participate, adding that Amazon has requested that Meta remove Amazon from the experience. The company argues that outside agents may access sensitive customer information, fail to properly identify themselves and operate without Amazon's consent. For investors, the dispute matters because third-party agents could eventually disrupt Amazon's lucrative advertising business by steering consumers directly to products while bypassing parts of its native storefront, potentially weakening its ability to monetize sponsored listings and control product discovery inside its marketplace.
AMZN ▲META ▼GOOG ▼
Artificial Intelligence ▼Cloud & Digital Infrastructure ▼
GuruFocus·1hRead more →
▲11impact 4

Alibaba Unveils Zhenwu V900 AI Chip, Plans 10-Trillion-Parameter Model

Alibaba Group shares climbed about 3% Tuesday after the Chinese technology company introduced a new in-house processor and outlined plans for a much larger AI model. The company said its next-generation model could reach 5 trillion to 10 trillion parameters, well above its current flagship Qwen model. Alibaba also unveiled the Zhenwu V900 through its T-Head semiconductor unit, a processor designed to deliver three times the performance of its predecessor and scheduled to enter mass production in the first quarter of 2027. The hardware push is tied to a broader expansion of Alibaba's computing infrastructure, with Alibaba Cloud planning to take its global data-center capacity beyond 20 gigawatts by 2032. The moves come as Chinese technology companies seek greater control over AI computing amid U.S. restrictions on advanced processors, with Alibaba's plans pointing to a strategy spanning chips, models and cloud infrastructure rather than relying on a single layer of the AI stack.
9988.HK ▲
Artificial Intelligence ▲Cloud & Digital Infrastructure ▲Semiconductors ▲
GuruFocus·1hRead more →
© 2026 MarketDXNews