Microsoft is making artificial intelligence one of its top priorities.
During its fiscal third-quarter earnings call, CEO Satya Nadella explained that “investing in the new AI wave” would remain a key focus for the software giant.
Microsoft announced in January a multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI, the artificial intelligence lab that created ChatGPT. Since then, Microsoft has begun to incorporate AI technology, dubbed “Copilot,” into some of its well-known products including Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
The company expects AI will help drive revenue growth over time because it will improve its product offerings.
Fiscal third-quarter revenue grew 7% to $52.86 billion, beating analysts’ prediction of $51.02 billion, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates. Additionally, Microsoft reported earnings per share of $2.45, which surpassed the $2.23 analysts expected.
What this means for investors
Microsoft announced its fiscal third-quarter earnings report after the bell on Tuesday, April 25. The next day, the company’s share price increased by nearly 8% and ended the trading session at $295.37 per share. The momentum continued on Thursday, with Microsoft shares setting a 52-week high.
Here’s how much money you’d have as of April 26 if you had invested $1,000 into the company one, five and 10 years ago.
If you had invested $1,000 into Microsoft a year ago, your investment would be worth about $1,103 as of April 26, according to CNBC’s calculations.
If you had invested $1,000 into Microsoft five years ago, your investment would have more than tripled to $3,248 as of April 26, according to CNBC’s calculations.
And if you had put $1,000 into Microsoft a decade ago, it would have soared to $9,841 as of April 26, according to CNBC’s calculations.
When it comes to investing, research is key
Although a stock may perform well in the short-term, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will continue to do so over the long-term. It’s important to remember that the stock market can be fickle, and there’s no foolproof way to predict how it may behave in the future.
For most investors, a passive investment strategy tends to make more sense than hand-picking individual stocks. Passive funds, such as index funds or exchange-traded funds, don’t use managers to directly run the fund, so they tend to be cheaper than more actively managed funds.
Additionally, passive funds are generally less risky since they invest in a wide array of companies. This lessens the chance that a decline in a particular company’s stock price would bring down your portfolio’s overall performance.
To get started, many experts recommend investing in low cost index funds that track market indices, such as the S&P 500. The S&P 500 index tracks the stock performance of around 500 large, publicly listed American companies, so investing in it adds automatic diversity to your portfolio.
As of April 26, the S&P 500 declined nearly 3% compared with its level 12 months ago, according to CNBC’s calculations. On the other hand, the value of the market index has grown by about 52% since 2018 and increased by about 156% since 2013.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.
The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was little changed in late-morning trading as the financial sector fell, but energy and base metal stocks moved higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.05 of a point at 24,224.95.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 94.31 points at 42,417.69. The S&P 500 index was down 10.91 points at 5,781.13, while the Nasdaq composite was down 29.59 points at 18,262.03.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.71 cents US compared with 73.05 cents US on Wednesday.
The November crude oil contract was up US$1.69 at US$74.93 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up a penny at US$2.67 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$14.70 at US$2,640.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up two cents at US$4.42 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
