Redmond, Washington: Microsoft announced on Monday that its board has approved a new share buyback program worth up to $60 billion. The tech giant also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, marking a 10% increase from the previous quarter.
The company plans to hold its annual shareholders meeting on December 10. In its previous financial update, Microsoft revealed plans to significantly boost spending on AI infrastructure this fiscal year, with a 77.6% increase in capital spending for the quarter ending June 30, primarily due to AI-related investments.
Although Microsoft reported a slowdown in growth for its Azure cloud business in the latest quarter, it anticipates acceleration in the latter half of fiscal 2025. Amidst investor pressure on big tech companies, including Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google, to demonstrate returns on substantial AI investments, Microsoft is among the few major firms that detail AI contributions in their earnings reports. Most companies have yet to see substantial gains from their AI investments.
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Last month, Microsoft revised its reporting structure to include some search and news advertising revenue under the Azure cloud-computing unit. In comparison, Apple had announced a record $110 billion share buyback program in May following strong quarterly results.
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Microsoft’s shares saw a marginal increase in aftermarket trading and have risen approximately 15% so far this year.
