MSFT · Technology(services-prepackaged software) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2026-06-30
Microsoft Corp reported revenue of $331.8 billion in fiscal 2026, after growing 14.7% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin widened from 30.1% in 2017 to 46.8%, and it earned 25.9% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $887.3 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 39.1% went back into the business and 23.1% to buybacks; the share count fell 4.8%. On the accounting screens, it passes 6 of 9 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of 4.59 is in the safe zone and its Beneish M-score is below the -1.78 line; 1 of the six cross-checks between its statements fires.
Revenue, fiscal 2026331.8B+14.7% a year over 9 years
Operating margin46.8%gross margin 67.9%
Return on invested capital25.9%28.7% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay54.6B16.4% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDA0.1×net debt 19.4B
Piotroski F-score6/9tests of improvement passed
Is it growing?
Revenue and the operating income it turns into. Growth that does not reach operating income is growth bought with margin.
RevenueOperating income
0100.0B200.0B300.0B400.0B
2017Revenue 96.6BOperating income 29.0B
2018Revenue 110.4BOperating income 35.1B
2019Revenue 125.8BOperating income 43.0B
2020Revenue 143.0BOperating income 53.0B
2021Revenue 168.1BOperating income 69.9B
2022Revenue 198.3BOperating income 83.4B
2023Revenue 211.9BOperating income 88.5B
2024Revenue 245.1BOperating income 109.4B
2025Revenue 281.7BOperating income 128.5B
2026Revenue 331.8BOperating income 155.2B
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
+16.1%
+14.6%
+14.7%
Operating income
+20.6%
+17.3%
+20.5%
Net income
+22.7%
+16.9%
+20.2%
Earnings per share
+22.8%
+17.4%
+20.9%
Free cash flow per share
+4.1%
+4.0%
+9.4%
Dividend per share
+10.2%
+10.3%
+9.9%
Shares
-0.1%
-0.4%
-0.5%
Falling shares are buybacks: each remaining share owns more of the company.
Does it earn more than its capital costs?
Margins say how much of each sale is kept; return on invested capital says how much the business earns on the money it needs to operate. Growth only creates value when that return is above the cost of the capital.
Return on invested capitalCost of capital today · 9.8%
0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%
2017Return on invested capital 15.0%
2018Return on invested capital 10.0%
2019Return on invested capital 22.1%
2020Return on invested capital 24.3%
2021Return on invested capital 30.1%
2022Return on invested capital 33.5%
2023Return on invested capital 28.3%
2024Return on invested capital 28.6%
2025Return on invested capital 27.4%
2026Return on invested capital 25.9%
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Economic profit
Economic profit
020.0B40.0B60.0B80.0B
2017Economic profit 8.5B
2018Economic profit 286.7M
2019Economic profit 21.4B
2020Economic profit 26.3B
2021Economic profit 40.6B
2022Economic profit 51.2B
2023Economic profit 46.8B
2024Economic profit 58.6B
2025Economic profit 67.8B
2026Economic profit 77.6B
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
(return on capital − cost of capital) × capital invested: the profit left after paying for the money used. Today's cost of capital is applied to every year, since a past one cannot be rebuilt honestly.
Return on equity
30.2%
Return on assets
17.6%
Asset turnover
0.44×
Research & development
10.7% of revenue
Overheads (SG&A)
2.4% of revenue
Is the profit cash, and where does the cash go?
Net income is an accounting opinion; free cash flow is what was left in the bank after investing. Stock-based pay does not leave the bank — shareholders pay it through dilution — so it is shown taken off as well.
Net incomeFree cash flowAfter stock-based pay
050.0B100.0B150.0B
2017Net income 25.5BFree cash flow 31.4BAfter stock-based pay 28.1B
2018Net income 16.6BFree cash flow 32.3BAfter stock-based pay 28.3B
2019Net income 39.2BFree cash flow 38.3BAfter stock-based pay 33.6B
2020Net income 44.3BFree cash flow 45.2BAfter stock-based pay 39.9B
2021Net income 61.3BFree cash flow 56.1BAfter stock-based pay 50.0B
2022Net income 72.7BFree cash flow 65.1BAfter stock-based pay 57.6B
2023Net income 72.4BFree cash flow 59.5BAfter stock-based pay 49.9B
2024Net income 88.1BFree cash flow 74.1BAfter stock-based pay 63.3B
2025Net income 101.8BFree cash flow 71.6BAfter stock-based pay 59.6B
2026Net income 133.7BFree cash flow 67.0BAfter stock-based pay 54.6B
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2017–2026
887.3B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 39%346.7B
Acquisitions 0%0
Dividends 20%180.2B
Share buybacks 23%205.3B
Kept, or used to pay down debt 17%155.0B
Over the same years it paid 75.5B in stock. The share count fell 4.8%. 129.8B of the buybacks went beyond offsetting that dilution.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$0.00$5.00$10.00$15.00$20.00
2017Earnings per share $3.25Free cash flow per share $4.01Dividend per share $1.51
2018Earnings per share $2.13Free cash flow per share $4.14Dividend per share $1.63
2019Earnings per share $5.06Free cash flow per share $4.93Dividend per share $1.78
2020Earnings per share $5.76Free cash flow per share $5.89Dividend per share $1.97
2021Earnings per share $8.05Free cash flow per share $7.38Dividend per share $2.17
2022Earnings per share $9.65Free cash flow per share $8.64Dividend per share $2.41
2023Earnings per share $9.68Free cash flow per share $7.96Dividend per share $2.65
2024Earnings per share $11.80Free cash flow per share $9.92Dividend per share $2.91
2025Earnings per share $13.64Free cash flow per share $9.59Dividend per share $3.23
2026Earnings per share $17.95Free cash flow per share $8.99Dividend per share $3.55
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
7.4B7.5B7.6B7.7B7.8B7.9B
2017Diluted shares 7.8B
2018Diluted shares 7.8B
2019Diluted shares 7.8B
2020Diluted shares 7.7B
2021Diluted shares 7.6B
2022Diluted shares 7.5B
2023Diluted shares 7.5B
2024Diluted shares 7.5B
2025Diluted shares 7.5B
2026Diluted shares 7.5B
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
How strong is the balance sheet?
Debt is not bad in itself; debt the business cannot service in a bad year is. Net debt is debt minus cash, and below zero the company holds more cash than it owes.
Net debt
020.0B40.0B60.0B80.0B
2017Net debt 69.5B
2018Net debt 64.3B
2019Net debt 60.8B
2020Net debt 49.8B
2021Net debt 43.9B
2022Net debt 35.9B
2023Net debt 12.5B
2024Net debt 26.6B
2025Net debt 12.9B
2026Net debt 19.4B
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
0.1×
Interest coverage
51× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
1.23 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
-52 days collects in 89d, stock 5d, pays in 146d
Three classic screens of the accounts
Each asks a different question of the same statements — is it improving, does it look like a company heading for distress, do the accounts resemble ones that were manipulated. None is a verdict; each shows what moves it.
Piotroski F-score
Is the business improving? Nine yes-or-no tests, this year against last.
6of 9 tests passed
✓ProfitableReturn on assets above zeropassed
✓Cash from operationsOperating cash flow above zeropassed
✓Profitability improvedReturn on assets higher than a year beforepassed
✓Profit backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income (low accruals)passed
✓Less long-term debtLong-term debt as a share of assets fellpassed
✕More liquidCurrent ratio higher than a year beforefailed
✓No new sharesShare count did not growpassed
✕Better gross marginGross margin higher than a year beforefailed
✕Sells more per assetAsset turnover higher than a year beforefailed
Where it misleads: it measures change, not level. An excellent business that stood still for a year scores low; a poor one recovering from a disaster scores high.
Altman Z''-score
Does the balance sheet look like those of companies that went bankrupt?
4.59safe zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets 0.05 × 6.56+0.34
Retained earnings ÷ assets 0.43 × 3.26+1.41
Operating income ÷ assets 0.20 × 6.72+1.38
Equity ÷ liabilities 1.40 × 1.05+1.47
Where it misleads: buybacks. A company that returns so much cash that its equity turns small or negative sinks the last two ratios without being anywhere near bankruptcy. Banks and insurers do not fit the model at all.
Beneish M-score
Do the accounts resemble those of companies that manipulated their earnings?
-2.64below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 0.98+0.90
Gross margin slipping 1.01+0.53
Soft assets 0.87+0.35
Sales growth 1.18+1.05
Slower depreciation 0.98+0.11
Overheads vs sales 0.94-0.16
Profit not in cash -0.06-0.30
Leverage rising 0.90-0.29
Where it misleads: fast growth and acquisitions. Sales growth carries a heavy weight, so a company growing 50% a year scores like a suspect without having done anything. It is a screen from a 1999 study, not an accusation.
Where the statements disagree
Cross-checks between the income statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow for the latest year, each with the benign reading and the worrying one.
Inventory is growing 49% against revenue growing 18%.
Benign
Stocking up for a launch, or securing supply.
Worrying
Demand is softening; discounts or write-downs tend to follow.
What is it worth, under which assumptions?
A company is worth the cash it will generate, brought back to today. This model projects revenue with growth that fades over the years, applies a free cash flow margin, and discounts the result at the cost of capital. Every assumption says where it came from, and all of them can be changed.
Value per share, with these assumptions$144.10discounted at 9.8% a year · 54% of it from after year 10
Type a share price on the left to ask the reverse questions: what growth, what margin or what discount rate that price implies.
What the value implies, in the usual multiples
At this model's value
Price ÷ earnings
8.0×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
5.8×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
3.3×
Free cash flow yield
5.1%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today499.7B
Everything after, today593.6B
The whole business1.09T
Minus net debt-19.4B
What belongs to shareholders1.07T
Divided among 7.5B shares: <strong>$144.10</strong> each.
The projection next to its history
Reported free cash flow after stock pay, then the model's. A projection that looks nothing like the past needs a reason.
ReportedProjected
050.0B100.0B150.0B
2017Reported 28.1B
2018Reported 28.3B
2019Reported 33.6B
2020Reported 39.9B
2021Reported 50.0B
2022Reported 57.6B
2023Reported 49.9B
2024Reported 63.3B
2025Reported 59.6B
2026Reported 54.6B
2027Projected 55.4B
2028Projected 62.7B
2029Projected 70.1B
2030Projected 77.4B
2031Projected 84.5B
2032Projected 91.1B
2033Projected 97.1B
2034Projected 102.1B
2035Projected 106.0B
2036Projected 108.6B
2017201920212023202520272029203120332035
Year by year
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
2036
Revenue
380.0B
430.0B
480.9B
531.4B
580.1B
625.5B
666.2B
700.6B
727.4B
745.6B
Growth
14.5%
13.2%
11.8%
10.5%
9.2%
7.8%
6.5%
5.2%
3.8%
2.5%
Cash margin
14.6%
14.6%
14.6%
14.6%
14.6%
14.6%
14.6%
14.6%
14.6%
14.6%
Free cash flow
55.4B
62.7B
70.1B
77.4B
84.5B
91.1B
97.1B
102.1B
106.0B
108.6B
Worth today
50.4B
51.9B
52.9B
53.2B
52.9B
51.9B
50.3B
48.2B
45.5B
42.5B
If the least-known inputs move
Value per share as two inputs change at a time. Neighbouring cells that differ a lot are the conclusion: the value depends on numbers nobody knows to a point.
The discount rate and growth forever
discount ↓ · forever →
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
8.8%
149
158
169
181
196
9.3%
139
147
156
166
178
9.8%
130
136
144
153
163
10.3%
122
127
134
142
150
10.8%
114
119
125
132
139
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
10.5%
12.5%
14.5%
16.5%
18.5%
11.7%
103
112
121
131
141
13.1%
113
122
133
143
155
14.6%
123
133
144
156
169
16.0%
132
144
156
169
183
17.5%
142
154
167
181
196
All the inputs moving at once
5,000 valuations, each with growth, final margin, discount rate and growth forever drawn at random around the values on the left (spreads of 3.0%, 2.2%, 1.0% and 0.5%). Not a probability — the spreads are assumptions too — but an honest picture of how wide the answer is.
10th percentile$108.52
Median$144.22
90th percentile$197.09
$100.00$150.00$200.00$250.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$123.73</b> and <b>$168.69</b>; one in ten below $108.52, one in ten above $197.09.
Does the long run make sense?
3.6×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 3.6 times that year's EBITDA.
4%To grow 2.5% forever while reinvesting 61% of its after-tax operating profit, the business must earn 4% on the new capital — it has earned 29% on average over the last five years.
54%of the value comes from after year 10. The more of it, the more the answer depends on the part nobody can see.
Accounts from the company's own SEC filings; lines some companies do not report are shown as a dash rather than estimated. The risk-free rate is the 10-year US Treasury yield. A DCF is a way of making assumptions explicit, not a forecast: it states what the company would be worth if the assumptions held. The scores are screens that point where to look, not verdicts. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell.