Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, software behemoth Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT ) has earned a respected four-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Microsoft's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Microsoft facts
| Headquarters (founded) | Redmond, Wash. (1975) |
| Market Cap | $253.8 billion |
| Industry | Systems software |
| Trailing-12-Month Revenue | $73.0 billion |
| Management | CEO Steven Ballmer (since 2000) CFO Peter Klein (since 2009) |
| Return on Equity (average, past 3 years) | 41.3% |
| Cash/Debt | $58.2 billion / $13.2 billion |
| Dividend Yield | 2.6% |
| Competitors | Apple Oracle |
Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 87% of the 15,550 members who have rated Microsoft believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. �
A couple of months ago, one of those Fools, Speachless, tapped the stock as a solid blue-chip selection:
Despite the fact that every one complains about the products, they still buy them. Yes there are threats galore, "the cloud", Google, Facebook, open source, etc, but despite all of that [Microsoft] thrives. Explosive growth is over, but I don't see any indications of a slow or rapid decline.
So stable business, dominant in several of their spaces, OK dividend which is regularly raised, lots of cash, lots of staying power, this stock will let me sleep at night and with dividend reinvestment, hopefully retire with a reasonable income stream.
If there was ever a buy and hold, this looks like it.
If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future. Of course, despite a strong four-star rating, Microsoft may not be your top choice.
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