Microsoft Stock Capital Return Hits $223 Bil
In the last five years, Microsoft (MSFT) stock has returned a massive $223 Bil back to its shareholders through cold, hard cash via dividends and buybacks. Let’s look at some numbers and compare how this payout power stacks up against the market’s biggest capital-return machines.
As it turns out, MSFT stock has returned the 3rd highest amount to shareholders in history.
| MSFT | S&P Median | |
|---|---|---|
| Dividends | $105 Bil | $3.0 Bil |
| Share Repurchase | $118 Bil | $3.0 Bil |
| Total Returned | $223 Bil | $6.0 Bil |
| Total Returned as % of Current Market Cap | 7.1% | 17.1% |
Why should you care? Because dividends and share repurchases represent direct, tangible returns of capital to shareholders. They also signal management’s confidence in the company’s financial health and ability to generate sustainable cash flows. And there are more stocks like that. Here is a list of the top 10 companies ranked by total capital returned to shareholders via dividends and stock repurchases.
Top 10 Stocks By Total Shareholder Return
| Total Money Returned | As % Of Current Market Cap | via Dividends | via Share Repurchases | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | $514 Bil | 12.9% | $75 Bil | $439 Bil |
| GOOGL | $296 Bil | 7.0% | $17 Bil | $279 Bil |
| MSFT | $223 Bil | 7.1% | $105 Bil | $118 Bil |
| JPM | $176 Bil | 20.8% | $71 Bil | $105 Bil |
| META | $159 Bil | 9.4% | $10 Bil | $149 Bil |
| XOM | $152 Bil | 23.2% | $79 Bil | $73 Bil |
| BAC | $125 Bil | 32.0% | $45 Bil | $80 Bil |
| CVX | $112 Bil | 29.2% | $57 Bil | $55 Bil |
| WFC | $105 Bil | 41.2% | $22 Bil | $83 Bil |
| NVDA | $96 Bil | 1.9% | $3.0 Bil | $93 Bil |
For full ranking, visit Buybacks & Dividends Ranking
What do you notice here? The total capital returned to shareholders as a % of the current market cap appears inversely proportional to growth prospects for reinvestments. Stocks like Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) are growing much faster, in a more predictable way, compared to the others, but they have returned a much lower fraction of their market cap to shareholders.
That’s the flip side to high capital returns. Sure, they are attractive, but you have to ask yourself the question: Am I sacrificing growth and sound fundamentals? With that in mind, let’s look at some numbers for MSFT. (see Buy or Sell Microsoft Stock for more details)
Microsoft Fundamentals
- Revenue Growth: 16.7% LTM and 14.4% last 3-year average.
- Cash Generation: Nearly 25.3% free cash flow margin and 46.7% operating margin LTM.
- Recent Revenue Shocks: The minimum annual revenue growth in the last 3 years for MSFT was 11.5%.
- Valuation: Microsoft stock trades at a P/E multiple of 26.4
| MSFT | S&P Median | |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology | – |
| Industry | Systems Software | – |
| PE Ratio | 26.4 | 23.9 |
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| LTM* Revenue Growth | 16.7% | 6.8% |
| 3Y Average Annual Revenue Growth | 14.4% | 5.5% |
| Min Annual Revenue Growth Last 3Y | 11.5% | 0.7% |
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| LTM* Operating Margin | 46.7% | 18.6% |
| 3Y Average Operating Margin | 45.3% | 18.2% |
| LTM* Free Cash Flow Margin | 25.3% | 14.2% |
*LTM: Last Twelve Months
The table gives a good overview of what you get from MSFT stock, but what about the risk?
MSFT Historical Risk
Microsoft isn’t immune to big dips. It plunged about 65% during the Dot-Com Bubble and nearly 58% in the Global Financial Crisis. The 2018 correction wiped out close to 18%, while the Covid selloff hit around 28%. Even the inflation shock dragged it down over 37%. Solid fundamentals don’t stop sharp drops when sentiment turns sour.
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