2. Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number Of Hedge Fund Investors: 317
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said in a program on CNBC a few weeks ago that he believes Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) will not be using OpenAI because the company is making its own models. Benioff explained the reasons behind this belief:
“It’s extremely important that OpenAI expands to other platforms quickly because Microsoft is building its own AI. I don’t think Microsoft will use OpenAI in the future—they’ll have their own Frontier models.
They’ve stated very clearly that it’s too expensive and too difficult for them, and they want to develop their own. That’s why they hired Mustafa Suleyman. And Mustafa Suleyman and Sam Altman are not best friends.”
Mairs & Power Growth Fund stated the following regarding Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Unlike the dot-com companies that operated at the turn-of-the-century, many of today’s technology companies are established businesses with significant cash flows. We have argued, and continue to argue, that many of these investments are perfectly aligned with our investments process in that they embody durable competitive advantages, above-average growth prospects, and excellent management teams.
A perfect example is Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which has grown to become the largest holding in the Growth Fund. Microsoft has a near monopoly on the office software productivity market with its Microsoft Office Suite. The company’s Azure platform is a leader in cloud computing and has been steadily gaining share. Thanks to its Office and Azure products, the company is deeply embedded within many enterprise IT ecosystems. Therefore, it should be well-positioned to expand its presence within its customer base, as it rolls out premium-price AI solutions. The company is not resting on its laurels and plans on spending an astounding $80 billion in 2025 to build out AI data centers.”
