Microsoft Stock Price – What Is Microsoft?
Microsoft is a top software company with its flagship Windows line of operating systems and the suite of productivity software known as Microsoft Office. The company also produces Xbox video game consoles and Surface touchscreen personal computers. In addition, the company makes the Azure cloud computing platform and the Bing search engine. Its corporate headquarters are located in Redmond, Washington.
It is one of the world’s biggest software makers and has made a number of significant acquisitions over the years. In 2011 it bought Internet voice communication service Skype for 8.5 billion dollars, its largest purchase to date. This allowed the company to integrate Skype with its other products such as Outlook and Windows smartphones.
The company is a member of the Fortune 500 list of the largest United States information technology companies. Its best-known software products include the Windows line of operating systems, the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity applications and the Edge web browser. The company also manufactures the Xbox video gaming consoles and the Surface lineup of touchscreen personal computers.
In the early 1980s, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and business partner Paul Allen began experimenting with a new computer called the Altair 8800. The pair created an interpreter for BASIC, a simple programming language that ran on the system.
Over the next several decades, Microsoft expanded its computer offerings to include a wide range of products and services for both home and office users. The company’s success continued to grow, and by 2000 it was a dominant force in the computer industry, setting global standards with products like its Windows operating systems and Microsoft Office business software.
There was concern among some industry observers that the departure of CEO Steve Ballmer would derail Microsoft’s momentum, but it has continued to flourish under the leadership of chief executive Satya Nadella. Nadella’s strategy has been to move beyond the traditional “Windows or nothing” philosophy and adapt to the needs of a changing market. While the company has experienced some failures, such as its unsuccessful tablet-based Windows 8, it continues to set high-quality standards with its computer hardware and software.
As an international company, it is necessary for Microsoft to have subsidiaries in any national markets it wants to harvest. This allows the company to funnel profits back up to Redmond, and to distribute dividends to shareholders. The top three institutional shareholders of Microsoft shares are Vanguard Group Inc., BlackRock Inc and State Street Corp. Each of these three companies own more than 7% of the total shares. The remaining 70% of Microsoft’s stock is owned by private investors. These individual shareholders are spread out worldwide. Some of them are well-known, including actor Tom Hanks, musician Jimmy Fallon and professional sports team owner Roger Staubach. Others are less prominent, such as Stanford University. All of them contribute to the stability and integrity of the company. They are important in ensuring that Microsoft remains a strong and influential player in the technology field for years to come.
