MSFT (Microsoft Corp) vs S&P 500 Comparison

MSFT

S&P 500

Compare the stock's returns with its benchmark index and competitors. Gain insights into its relative performance over time.

Select Stock to Compare

MSFT

S&P 500

Difference

1Y 3Y 5Y 10Y 15Y 20Y

MSFT

S&P 500

Add Stock

Compare the stock's returns with its benchmark index and competitors. Gain insights into its relative performance over time.

Select Stock to Compare

S&P 500

MSFT

ORCL

NOW

PANW

CRWD

Add Stock

1Y 3Y 5Y 10Y 15Y 20Y

Compare the stock's returns with its benchmark index and competitors. Gain insights into its relative performance over time.

Select Stock to Compare

Microsoft Corp
Glance View

Economic Moat

Wide

Market Cap

3.2T USD

Industry

Technology

In the dynamic world of technology, Microsoft Corp. has consistently positioned itself at the forefront of innovation and enterprise solutions since its founding in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Evolving from its initial foray into personal computing software, Microsoft engineered a transformation in the tech ecosystem with its Windows operating system. Today, it is a behemoth in various facets of the industry, from cloud computing with Azure to productivity software suites like Microsoft Office. Unlike the mythic tales of overnight success, Microsoft's ascent reflects strategic adaptability and foresight, crafting a narrative of calculated pivots and robust diversification. The company’s business model intricately weaves together a mélange of software products, services, and hardware. Its revenue streams are diversified across licensing fees, subscriptions, cloud services, and hardware sales. Azure, Microsoft's cloud platform, stands as a stalwart in the cloud computing arena, offering a multitude of services to enterprises, outpacing competitors through aggressive innovation and enterprise engagement. Meanwhile, the Office suite's transition to a subscription-based model underlines a shift toward a recurring revenue stream, which has fortified its financial stability. Microsoft's success isn’t merely rooted in software; its ventures into gaming with Xbox and acquisitions like LinkedIn signify a robust portfolio, leveraging a vast ecosystem to sustain growth and relevance across an array of markets.

View MSFT Analysis

MSFT Intrinsic Value

What is Intrinsic Value?

Economic Moat is a concept popularized by Warren Buffett to describe a company's durable competitive advantage. It represents the 'moat' that protects a company from competitors and helps it sustain profitability over the long term. Our analysis of the past 10 years showed that companies with a wide economic moat significantly outperformed the market, delivering +645% returns compared to +189% for the S&P 500.

Our research into Economic Moat performance spans the past 10 years and focuses on companies with a wide economic moat. For this analysis, we calculated the average stock price returns of these companies, comparing them to the performance of the S&P 500 index over the same period.

The results were compelling: wide moat stocks achieved a remarkable +645% average return, compared to +188% for the broader market. This difference highlights the long-term benefits of investing in businesses that can maintain their market position and pricing power over time.

Note: This research does not account for survivorship bias. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Determining whether a company has an economic moat requires both a deep dive into financial metrics and a qualitative assessment of its competitive position. Our analysts conduct a rigorous evaluation that focuses on identifying structural advantages that enable a company to sustain profitability and defend its market share over the long term.

The process begins with an analysis of a company’s historical financial performance. We assess how consistently the company has generated returns above its cost of capital and whether those returns have been stable or improving. However, financial performance alone doesn’t reveal the full picture. To understand the sources of these advantages, we evaluate five key drivers of economic moats:

Network Effect: We analyze whether the value of a company’s product or service grows as its user base expands. Platforms like payment systems or marketplaces benefit from this self-reinforcing.

Switching Costs: We assess whether customers face significant costs or disruptions when switching to a competitor’s product or service. High switching costs create customer stickiness and provide pricing power.

Intangible Assets: Strong brands, patents, and regulatory licenses can protect a company’s market position by creating barriers for competitors or enabling premium pricing. For example, a well-recognized consumer brand may command higher customer loyalty and margins.

Efficient scale: Occurs when a market is optimally served by one or a few players, making it unprofitable for new entrants to compete. This typically happens in industries with high fixed costs or geographic constraints, such as utilities or pipelines.

Cost Advantage: Companies with structural cost advantages can produce goods or services at a lower cost than their competitors, enabling them to offer competitive pricing or maintain higher margins. These advantages often arise from economies of scale, superior supply chain management, or proprietary technology. Firms like Walmart leverage their massive scale to negotiate better terms with suppliers, allowing them to undercut competitors on price.

By examining these factors in combination with a company’s financial performance and market positioning, we classify each company into one of three categories:

This rigorous evaluation ensures that our moat ratings are both comprehensive and reliable, giving investors the tools they need to make well-informed, long-term decisions.

	Franklin Covey Co NYSE:FC	35.3 USD
	Mohawk Industries Inc NYSE:MHK	118.28 USD 0.84%
	Ardmore Shipping Corp NYSE:ASC	12.56 USD -1.64%
	ASGN Inc NYSE:ASGN	86.92 USD
	Skyworks Solutions Inc NASDAQ:SWKS	92.63 USD -0.03%
	Weatherford International PLC NASDAQ:WFRD	72.13 USD -3.57%

	Johnson & Johnson NYSE:JNJ	142.27 USD
	Bank of America Corp NYSE:BAC	46.21 USD
	Mastercard Inc NYSE:MA	516.4 USD 0.98%
	Salesforce Inc NYSE:CRM	326.9 USD
	Abbvie Inc NYSE:ABBV	178.5 USD -0.57%
	Home Depot Inc NYSE:HD	387.2 USD

	Arista Networks Inc NYSE:ANET	115.51 USD
	Visa Inc NYSE:V	312.6 USD
	Texas Pacific Land Corp NYSE:TPL	1 275.94 USD 1.4%
	KLA Corp NASDAQ:KLAC	686.2 USD -0.45%
	Manhattan Associates Inc NASDAQ:MANH	272.49 USD 1.6%
	Pinduoduo Inc NASDAQ:PDD	100.32 USD

	Salesforce Inc NYSE:CRM	326.9 USD
	ServiceNow Inc NYSE:NOW	1 049.08 USD -0.48%
	EOG Resources Inc NYSE:EOG	128.46 USD 0.71%
	Copart Inc NASDAQ:CPRT	56.78 USD 0.96%
	Applied Materials Inc NASDAQ:AMAT	176.99 USD -0.47%
	Synopsys Inc NASDAQ:SNPS	502 USD 2.95%

	Johnson & Johnson NYSE:JNJ	142.27 USD
	Berkshire Hathaway Inc NYSE:BRK.A	677 925 USD
	Bank of America Corp NYSE:BAC	46.21 USD
	Mastercard Inc NYSE:MA	516.4 USD 0.98%
	UnitedHealth Group Inc NYSE:UNH	524.52 USD
	Exxon Mobil Corp NYSE:XOM	106.93 USD

MSFT

vs

S&P 500

Stocks Performance
MSFT vs S&P 500

Performance Gap
MSFT vs S&P 500

Performance By Year
MSFT vs S&P 500

Competitors Performance
Microsoft Corp vs Peers

Microsoft Corp
Glance View

Company

Help

Tools

Stocks

US		Oracle Corp NYSE:ORCL	Add
US		ServiceNow Inc NYSE:NOW	Add
US		Palo Alto Networks Inc NASDAQ:PANW	Add
US		CrowdStrike Holdings Inc NASDAQ:CRWD	Add
US		Fortinet Inc NASDAQ:FTNT	Add
US	V	VMware Inc XETRA:BZF1	Add
US		Xperi Holding Corp LSE:0M2A	Add
US		Zscaler Inc NASDAQ:ZS	Add
IL		Check Point Software Technologies Ltd NASDAQ:CHKP	Add
IL		Cyberark Software Ltd NASDAQ:CYBR	Add

US		Oracle Corp NYSE:ORCL	Select
US		ServiceNow Inc NYSE:NOW	Select
US		Palo Alto Networks Inc NASDAQ:PANW	Select
US		CrowdStrike Holdings Inc NASDAQ:CRWD	Select
US		Fortinet Inc NASDAQ:FTNT	Select
US	V	VMware Inc XETRA:BZF1	Select
US		Xperi Holding Corp LSE:0M2A	Select
US		Zscaler Inc NASDAQ:ZS	Select
IL		Check Point Software Technologies Ltd NASDAQ:CHKP	Select
IL		Cyberark Software Ltd NASDAQ:CYBR	Select

US	G	GE Vernova LLC NYSE:GEV	Add
NL	N	Nepi Rockcastle NV JSE:NRP	Add
US		Schlumberger NV NYSE:SLB	Add
US	B	Baker Hughes Co NASDAQ:BKR	Add
ID		Amman Mineral Internasional Tbk PT IDX:AMMN	Add
US	R	Reddit Inc NYSE:RDDT	Add
CH	G	Galderma Group AG SIX:GALD	Add
US		Halliburton Co NYSE:HAL	Add
LU		Tenaris SA MIL:TEN	Add
IN		Jio Financial Services Ltd NSE:JIOFIN	Add

MSFT vs S&P 500

Stocks Performance MSFT vs S&P 500

Performance Gap MSFT vs S&P 500

Performance By Year MSFT vs S&P 500

Competitors Performance Microsoft Corp vs Peers

Microsoft Corp Glance View

Company

Help

Tools

Stocks

MSFT

vs

S&P 500

Stocks Performance
MSFT vs S&P 500

Performance Gap
MSFT vs S&P 500

Performance By Year
MSFT vs S&P 500

Competitors Performance
Microsoft Corp vs Peers

Microsoft Corp
Glance View