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After Apple’s (AAPL - Free Report) market cap hit the $3 trillion mark on Jun 30, investment world got busy in finding the next joiner in that club. And Wedbush believes Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) is the likely member, as quoted on CNBC.
Microsoft is a great AI story and is riding on strong growth from Intelligent Cloud and Productivity and Business Processes. Intelligent Cloud revenues have been driven by growth in Azure and other cloud services. Productivity and Business Processes revenues continues to increase due to strong adoption of Office 365 Commercial solutions.
The company has hit headlines this year with its partnership with ChatGPT creator OpenAI and smarten up the Bing search engine with artificial intelligence technology. Steady performance in Talent Solutions aided LinkedIn revenues. However, increasing spend on Azure enhancements amid stiff competition in the cloud space remains a concern. Subdued economic outlook may hit Microsoft's Windows business.
What Do Indicators Say About Microsoft’s Valuation?
Going by valuation metrics, the P/E (ttm) of MSFT is 36.1 times versus the industry-average of 37.3 times. The forward P/E of MSFT is 35.0 times versus the industry score of 29.6 times. Though the latter measure points to a higher valuation of Microsoft than the industry, a higher P/E is not always a sign of worry. It shows investors’ confidence in a particular stock within the bunch.
Investors should note that the return-on-equity of Microsoft is 39%, higher than the industry average of 25.4%. Plus, return-on-assets Microsoft is marginally higher than the industry measure. The estimated 3-5-year EPS growth of MSFT is, however, 11.7% versus the industry measure of 16.4%.
Investors should note that the MSFT stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). It has a Growth Score of ‘B’ and the top-most Momentum score of ‘A’, at the time of writing.
Are ETFs Better Bets?
Investors intending to follow Wedbush’s suggestion but still wary of the still cloud competition may take the ETF route. This is because ETFs helps investors to mitigate one company’s average performance with the other companies’ stellar results.
Below we highlight a few ETFs with heavy exposure to Microsoft for investors seeking to bet on the stock with much lower risk.
Select Sector SPDR Technology ETF (XLK - Free Report) – MSFT holds the second spot with 22.81% weight. The fund has a Zacks Rank #1.
Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT - Free Report) – MSFT occupies the first location with 20.68% weight. The fund has a Zacks Rank #1.
Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF (FTEC - Free Report) – MSFT takes the second spot with 20.68% weight. The fund has a Zacks Rank #1.
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Microsoft Next to Join $3T Club? ETFs to Benefit
After Apple’s (AAPL - Free Report) market cap hit the $3 trillion mark on Jun 30, investment world got busy in finding the next joiner in that club. And Wedbush believes Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) is the likely member, as quoted on CNBC.
Microsoft is a great AI story and is riding on strong growth from Intelligent Cloud and Productivity and Business Processes. Intelligent Cloud revenues have been driven by growth in Azure and other cloud services. Productivity and Business Processes revenues continues to increase due to strong adoption of Office 365 Commercial solutions.
The company has hit headlines this year with its partnership with ChatGPT creator OpenAI and smarten up the Bing search engine with artificial intelligence technology. Steady performance in Talent Solutions aided LinkedIn revenues. However, increasing spend on Azure enhancements amid stiff competition in the cloud space remains a concern. Subdued economic outlook may hit Microsoft's Windows business.
What Do Indicators Say About Microsoft’s Valuation?
Going by valuation metrics, the P/E (ttm) of MSFT is 36.1 times versus the industry-average of 37.3 times. The forward P/E of MSFT is 35.0 times versus the industry score of 29.6 times. Though the latter measure points to a higher valuation of Microsoft than the industry, a higher P/E is not always a sign of worry. It shows investors’ confidence in a particular stock within the bunch.
Investors should note that the return-on-equity of Microsoft is 39%, higher than the industry average of 25.4%. Plus, return-on-assets Microsoft is marginally higher than the industry measure. The estimated 3-5-year EPS growth of MSFT is, however, 11.7% versus the industry measure of 16.4%.
Investors should note that the MSFT stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). It has a Growth Score of ‘B’ and the top-most Momentum score of ‘A’, at the time of writing.
Are ETFs Better Bets?
Investors intending to follow Wedbush’s suggestion but still wary of the still cloud competition may take the ETF route. This is because ETFs helps investors to mitigate one company’s average performance with the other companies’ stellar results.
Below we highlight a few ETFs with heavy exposure to Microsoft for investors seeking to bet on the stock with much lower risk.
Select Sector SPDR Technology ETF (XLK - Free Report) – MSFT holds the second spot with 22.81% weight. The fund has a Zacks Rank #1.
Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT - Free Report) – MSFT occupies the first location with 20.68% weight. The fund has a Zacks Rank #1.
Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF (FTEC - Free Report) – MSFT takes the second spot with 20.68% weight. The fund has a Zacks Rank #1.