What is William Blair’s Estimate for Microsoft Q1 Earnings?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Stock analysts at William Blair lifted their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for Microsoft in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair analyst J. Ader now expects that the software giant will earn $3.67 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $3.55. The consensus estimate for Microsoft’s current full-year earnings is $12.89 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Microsoft’s Q2 2026 earnings at $3.82 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.69 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $3.84 EPS.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm posted $2.93 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $415.06 on Friday. Microsoft has a 1 year low of $385.58 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $432.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $424.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. 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 is presently 26.73%.

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.