(Bloomberg) — Microsoft Corp. unveiled a new $60 billion share buyback program, equivalent to the largest buyback authorization ever, and increased its quarterly dividend by 10%.
Most read from Bloomberg
The software company said shareholders will receive a quarterly dividend of 83 cents per share from November 21, up from the current 75 cents. The share repurchase agreement, which has no expiration date, replaces a $60 billion buyback program announced in 2021.
Microsoft, the world’s second most valuable company, has benefited from the buoyant artificial intelligence market in recent years. The software maker has equipped its product line with AI technology from partner OpenAI and has touted the tools’ capabilities to extend its business applications, such as Teams, Word and Outlook. Microsoft released a new set of AI tools earlier Monday.
Shares rose less than 1% in extended trading after the buyback was announced, after closing at $431.34 in regular trading on Monday. The stock is up 31% in the past year.
Microsoft had $75.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, according to Bloomberg data. Free cash flow in the fiscal fourth quarter was $23.3 billion, the Redmond, Washington-based company said in July, “an increase of 18% year over year due to higher capital expenditures to support our cloud and AI offerings. ”
(Updates with extended trading in fourth paragraph.)
Most read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2024 BloombergLP