We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Fundamental Stocks to Invest In. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) stands against other best fundamental stocks.
As per Ameriprise Financial, the broader stock market continued to climb in Q3 2024, despite surprises that occurred on the way. Particularly, the stocks were resilient during September. In July, weaker-than-anticipated jobs data raised concerns that the US labor trends have been slowing faster than expected. As a result, there were worries that the US Fed left the rates too high for too long. Furthermore, in August, an unexpected increase in the rate from the Bank of Japan weighed over the global stocks for a brief period.
Moving forward, the results of the US Presidential election are likely to decide the course of the broader market in 2025. As per Fidelity Investments, the November election outcomes should shape the economic policy debate in 2025. Some of the examples of proposals from the Republican party consist of corporate tax cuts and lower regulatory pressures on some industries, but elevated tariffs and tighter immigration restrictions can be inflationary. Democratic party proposals consist of a focus on increasing taxes to finance public spending.
Fidelity Investments added that the fiscal deficit is expected to remain large over the upcoming several years (6%–7% of GDP), with interest payments grabbing an even larger share of the overall federal budget.
Q4 2024: What Lies Ahead?
Ameriprise Financial believes that, economically, the US consumer and business activity has demonstrated signs of healthy moderation in Q3, with inflation ebbing lower and labor/spending/savings trends slowing but staying firm throughout the quarter. The corporate profits saw a healthy growth in H1 2024 and this trend is likely to continue in H2 2024. The labor conditions are expected to remain healthy. Overall, the investment firm believes that the macroeconomic backdrop might remain strong and supportive for asset prices in Q4, outside of periods of brief volatility.
Another factor that should help companies and broader equities is an expectation that inflation and interest rates are on the path to move lower. After reducing the policy rate by a strong 50 bps in September, the US Fed might cut its policy rate by at least another 50 bps before 2024 ends. The September cut was the first since 2020 and likely concludes an aggressive rate-hiking cycle. As per the Fed projections, the policymakers might continue to cut rates through 2024-end and into 2025, supporting growth and labor moving forward.
While some sort of weak seasonality factors might be visible in Q4, Ameriprise Financial highlighted that S&P 500 managed to deliver an average return of ~4.2% in the fourth quarter since 2000 and an average of ~9.8% over the last 5 years.
READ ALSO: 7 Best Stocks to Buy For Long-Term and 8 Cheap Jim Cramer Stocks to Invest In.
The Case For a Soft Landing
The IMF’s chief economist hinted that the US remains close to achieving a “soft landing” by navigating challenges, such as inflation, without prompting a prolonged recession. While global growth is slowing, the US is still a positive exception. The inflation in the US appears to be easing towards the US Fed’s target, and the labor market, despite some cooling, remains resilient. As per State Street Global Advisors, despite the US election uncertainty and Middle East geopolitical tensions, the US Fed’s dovish pivot and still-solid US economy continue to make the case for a soft landing.
IMF’s chief economist stated that, globally, an inflation picture seems to be coming very close to central bank targets in the course of the next year. Also, several supply-side factors are aiding the US economy, including good US productivity data, and a significant increase in the number of foreign-born workers, which supported spurring growth without driving inflation.
Close-up of a financial graph showing the performance of a French equity market index over time.
Our Methodology
To list the 10 Best Fundamental Stocks to Invest In, we conducted extensive research using Finviz screener and online rankings. To select the stocks, we chose companies with stable and reliable 10-year revenue and net income growth rates. We also mentioned the hedge fund sentiment around each stock, as of Q2 2024. Finally, the list has been arranged in the ascending order of their hedge fund holdings.
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 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
10-Year Revenue Growth Rate: ~10.9%
10-Year Net Income Growth Rate: ~14.8%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 279
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is engaged in developing and supporting software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has been pushing forward its cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) strategies. The company’s Azure cloud platform continues to be a central focus, with Wall Street analysts expecting a reacceleration in the latter half of FY 2025. This optimism stems from its significant investments in AI infrastructure and the expected rise in demand for AI-related cloud services. Experts opine that easing optimization pressures, renewed on-premises to cloud migration projects, and elevated consumption demands from LLMs and general AI applications should support Azure’s growth rate in the upcoming quarters.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s diverse product portfolio should help the tech giant navigate the challenging environment, with Office 365 Commercial, in particular, being tagged as a major success story. It is also seeing positive trends in the Windows segment, with stabilized PC demand and the potential for growth due to the release of AI-enabled PCs and tablets. The strategic initiatives, like the integration of AI capabilities throughout product lines, should drive future growth.
As businesses continue to adopt AI technologies, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Azure AI platform and related services might become an important driver of revenue growth. Furthermore, its partnership with OpenAI and its R&D efforts can result in breakthrough AI applications.
Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on the shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) from $500.00 to $515.00, giving an “Overweight” rating on 31st July. Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its third quarter 2024 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is the world’s largest software and cloud computing company. Microsoft was traditionally known for its Windows and Office products, but over the last five years it has built a $147 billion run-rate cloud business, including its Azure cloud infrastructure service and its Office 365 and Dynamics 365 cloud-delivered applications. Shares gave back some gains from strong performance over the first half of this year. For the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024, Microsoft reported a strong quarter with total revenue growing 16%, in line with the Street; Microsoft Cloud up 22%; Azure up 30%; 43% operating income margins; and 36% free cash flow margins. Core Azure growth came in one point shy of expectations, however, due to a soft European market and continued constraints on AI compute capacity. In the same vein, while Microsoft reiterated its fiscal 2025 targets of double-digit top-line and operating income growth, quarterly guidance called for Azure growth to slow a bit before accelerating in the back half of the fiscal year, as capital expenditures increase, yielding an expansion of AI compute capacity. We believe this investment is a leading indicator for growth, with more than half of the spend related to durable land and data center build outs, which should monetize over the next 15-plus years. We remain confident that Microsoft is one of the best-positioned companies across the overlapping software, cloud computing, and AI landscapes, and we remain investors.”
Overall MSFT ranks 1st on our list of 10 Best Fundamental Stocks to Invest In. While we acknowledge the potential of MSFT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some deeply undervalued AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for a deeply undervalued 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.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
