2. Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 279
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) develops, licenses, and supports computer software, consumer electronics, and personal computers. It makes revenue by designing and selling hardware, and by delivering relevant online advertising to a global customer audience.
FQ4 2024 was a success for the company, with revenue up 15.20%, driven by Microsoft Cloud revenue up 21% due to record bookings. Individual Office sales were up 4%, and Dynamics ERP and CRM software sales grew 19%. Bing saw a 3% increase. Azure revenue surged by 30%. Partnerships with Lumen Technologies and Palantir strengthen its AI leadership and cloud capabilities.
The company recently settled a lawsuit filed by a group of gamers who opposed the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but both parties agreed to dismiss the lawsuit and cover their own costs. This marks the end of a lengthy legal battle that raised concerns about competition in the video game industry.
As October began, Placing Platform Limited (PPL) partnered with Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) to enhance its specialty insurance trading platform. Through this collaboration, PPL will integrate the company’s data and AI capabilities to create a more efficient and data-driven trading platform. Key features include the development of a productivity tool, an intelligent data hub, and enhanced collaboration features.
The company’s recent healthcare AI innovations offer a promising but risky investment opportunity, with the potential for high growth but challenges in a competitive and regulated market. Microsoft Corp.’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) continued investment in AI and cloud infrastructure positions it as a market leader. Its strong financials, robust cloud growth, and positive outlook make it a promising investment option.
Generation Investment Management Global Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Generative AI’s hunger for power has increased disproportionately with its intelligence. According to one estimate, OpenAI’s GPT-4 required 50 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity to train, much more than the 1.3 GWh needed for GPT-3.3 And then AI requires even more power when it is put to use (so called ‘inference’). Some of the latest trends worry us. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) appears to be slipping in its ESG goals, with its greenhouse gas emissions rising again last year, as it invests in becoming a big player in AI. It is struggling in particular to curb its Scope 3 emissions in the capital goods category – nowhere more so than in the activity associated with the construction of data centres: both the embedded carbon in construction materials like steel and cement, as well as the emissions from the manufacturing of hardware components such as semiconductors, servers and racks. Google’s emissions have risen by close to 50% in the past five years.
We feel it is worth dwelling on Microsoft for a few moments, since we suspect you will be hearing a lot more about the relationship between AI and sustainability in the coming months. The bottom line is that we continue to see Microsoft as a sustainability leader. In the case of Scope 2 emissions, the company covers 100% of its electricity use with purchases of renewable energy. Crucially, though, the majority of this green energy is directly sourced via power purchase agreements, which bring new renewable capacity to the grid. Microsoft is also committed to operating 24/7 on renewable power by 2030, a policy that will help bring energy storage onto the grid as well…” (Click here to read the full text)
