We recently published a list of Top 10 Stocks to Buy According to Sustainable Insight Capital Management. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) stands against other top stocks to buy according to sustainable insight capital management.

Sustainable Insight Capital Management (SICM) focuses on institutional investments, offering both long-only and long-short strategies in public equities. Established by an experienced leadership team with deep institutional knowledge, the hedge fund is committed to providing investment solutions that emphasize sustainability. As of the fourth quarter of 2024, SICM reported managing nearly $228.52 million in 13F securities, with its top 10 holdings making up 56.36% of its portfolio.

Kevin Edward Parker is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC, which he established in 2013. He also founded Sustainable Insight Capital Management (UK) Ltd. that same year and serves as its CEO as well. Parker earned his undergraduate degree from New York University in 1981. With over 30 years of experience on Wall Street, he has built a distinguished career in investment management and financial leadership. Before launching SICM, Kevin Parker played a key role at Deutsche Bank, where he was a member of the Group Executive Committee from 2001 to 2004 and led its asset management division as Global Head from 2004 to 2012. His extensive expertise in sustainable investing and institutional asset management has positioned SICM as a leader in responsible investment strategies.

Beyond his work at SICM, Parker holds several leadership positions in various organizations. Since 2004, he has also served as Vice Chairman of the New York Police & Fire Widow’s & Children’s Benefit Fund. Additionally, he has been an Independent Director at The Westaim Corporation since 2020, an Independent Non-Executive Director at United Co. RUSAL International PJSC since 2019, and a Director at both Next Jump, Inc. and Westaim Arena Holdings II LLC since 2016. His previous roles include Chairman of the Management Board at DWS International GmbH from 2011 to 2012 and a Director at the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board from 2014 to 2018. He has also held leadership positions at Agri. Capital Group SA, DB Climate Change Advisors, and Green Partners Technology Holdings GmbH.

Our Methodology

The stocks discussed below were picked from Sustainable Insight Capital Management’s Q4 2024 13F filings. They are compiled in the ascending order of Sustainable Insight Capital Management’s stake in them as of the fourth quarter of 2024. In order to assist readers with more context, we have included the hedge fund sentiment regarding each stock using data from 1008 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 363.5% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 208 percentage points (see more details here).

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders as of Q4: 317

SICM’s Equity Stake: $9.84 Million

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) delivered an impressive financial performance in the fourth quarter of 2024, with revenue reaching $69.63 billion, surpassing market estimates of $68.81 billion and marking a 12.27% increase from the previous year. The company also exceeded earnings expectations, reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $3.23, which was 3.47% higher than consensus estimates. This strong financial growth, driven by advancements in cloud computing and artificial intelligence, reinforces Microsoft’s stability and long-term potential, making it a compelling investment choice for those seeking a profitable stock.

As of Q4 2024, Sustainable Insight Capital Management significantly increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to 23,335 shares, marking a 118% rise from 10,747 shares in Q3. This stake is now valued at approximately $9.84 million, making Microsoft the 9^th most valuable holding in Kevin Parker’s portfolio. Broader hedge fund interest in the stock also grew, with 174 out of 1,008 funds tracked by Insider Monkey holding positions worth nearly $21 billion by the end of Q4, up from 160 funds in Q3. The rising institutional investment in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) highlights strong confidence in its growth potential, reinforcing its status as a top stock to buy.

On February 20, 2025, Microsoft made headlines when it introduced a new quantum computing chip, Majorana 1, which it claims will accelerate the development of quantum computers capable of solving complex, industrial-scale problems within years rather than decades. Although Quantum computing remains highly challenging with many experts believing practical applications are still decades away, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) asserts that its breakthrough in developing a topological conductor, a newly engineered material, could significantly speed up this timeline. The company sees this innovation as potentially as transformative as semiconductors were for traditional computing. While some industry leaders, like Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang, predict useful quantum computing is still two decades away, others, including Microsoft’s Chetan Nayak, believe the new technology could shift that outlook to just a few years. Despite this optimism, experts caution that more data is needed to fully assess the impact of Microsoft’s research.

Alger Spectra Fund stated the following regarding Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

“Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a beneficiary of corporate America’s transformative digitization. The company operates through three segments: Productivity and Business Processes (Office365, LinkedIn, and Dynamics), Intelligent Cloud (Server Products and Cloud Services, Azure, and Enterprise Services), and More Personal Computing (Windows, Devices, Gaming, and Search). During the quarter, Microsoft delivered better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter revenues, beating analyst estimates across all three segments. In the Intelligent Cloud business, Azure revenue grew 34% year over-year, slightly above consensus, with AI Services contributing 12% to Azure’s growth, up from 11% in the previous quarter, as demand for AI continues to outpace capacity. However, shares declined after management signaled a potential deceleration in Azure growth for the next quarter and highlighted a negative earnings impact from OpenAI-related losses. Additionally, concerns over significantly increased AI-related capital expenditures (CapEx) raised questions about short-term profitability despite the long-term growth potential. While these near-term challenges led to shares detracting from performance for the quarter, we remain confident in Microsoft’s ability to maintain its leadership in AI.”

Overall, MSFT ranks 9th on our list of top stocks to buy according to sustainable insight capital management. While we acknowledge the potential for MSFT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MSFT but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.