The most recent trading session ended with Microsoft (MSFT – Free Report) standing at $424.83, reflecting a -1.32% shift from the previouse trading day’s closing. This change lagged the S&P 500’s 1.07% loss on the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.97%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 1.19%.
The software maker’s shares have seen an increase of 1.67% over the last month, not keeping up with the Computer and Technology sector’s gain of 4.8% and outstripping the S&P 500’s loss of 0.36%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Microsoft in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company’s earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $3.14, reflecting a 7.17% increase from the same quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $68.75 billion, showing a 10.86% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $12.93 per share and revenue of $277.69 billion, which would represent changes of +9.58% and +13.29%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Microsoft. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company’s business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To capitalize on this, we’ve crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. As of now, Microsoft holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Microsoft is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 33.3. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry’s average Forward P/E of 32.44.
Meanwhile, MSFT’s PEG ratio is currently 2.28. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company’s expected earnings growth rate. The Computer – Software industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.3 as of yesterday’s close.
The Computer – Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 56, putting it in the top 23% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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