.svg){kind=logo} | |
 Aerial view of the Microsoft Redmond campus | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| ISIN | US5949181045 |
| Industry | Information technology |
| Founded | April 4, 1975 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | One Microsoft Way, , U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
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| Products | |
| Brands | |
| Services | |
| Revenue |  US$245.1 billion (2024) |
| US$109.4 billion (2024) | |
| US$88.1 billion (2024) | |
| Total assets | US$512.1 billion (2024) |
| Total equity | US$268.5 billion (2024) |
Number of employees | 228,000 (2024) |
| Divisions | |
| Subsidiaries | |
| ASN | |
| Website | microsoft.com |
| Footnotes / references Financials as of June 30, 2024[update][1] | |
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Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington.[2] Founded in 1975, the company became highly influential in the rise of personal computers through software like Windows, and the company has since expanded to Internet services, cloud computing, video gaming and other fields. Microsoft is the largest software maker, one of the most valuable public U.S. companies,[a] and one of the most valuable brands globally.
Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. It rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by Windows. The company's 1986 initial public offering (IPO) and subsequent rise in its share price created three billionaires and an estimated 12,000 millionaires among Microsoft employees. Since the 1990s, it has increasingly diversified from the operating system market. Steve Ballmer replaced Gates as CEO in 2000 which would see the then-largest of Microsoft's corporate acquisitions in Skype Technologies in 2011,[3] and an increased focus on hardware[4][5] that led to its first in-house PC line, the Surface, in 2012, and the formation of Microsoft Mobile through Nokia. Since Satya Nadella took over as CEO in 2014, the company has changed focus towards cloud computing,[6][7] as well as its large acquisition of LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in 2016.[8] Under Nadella's direction, the company has also expanded its video gaming business to support the Xbox brand, establishing the Microsoft Gaming division in 2022, which is currently[b] the third-largest gaming company in the world by revenue,[9] following the 2023 acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.[10]
Microsoft has been market-dominant in the IBM PC–compatible operating system market and the office software suite market since the 1990s. Its best-known software products are the Windows line of operating systems, the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity applications, the Azure cloud computing platform, and the Edge web browser. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface lineup of touchscreen personal computers. Other consumer and enterprise software it produces include Internet search with Bing; digital services through MSN; mixed reality through HoloLens; cloud computing with Azure; and software development through Visual Studio. Today, Microsoft is considered one of the Big Five American information technology companies, alongside Alphabet,[c] Amazon, Apple, and Meta[d]. However it has been criticized for its monopolistic practices and the company's software has been criticized for problems with ease of use, robustness, and security.[citation needed]
- ^ "Microsoft Corporation Form 10-K". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. July 30, 2024. pp. 8, 56, 58.
- ^ "Microsoft Investor Relations - FAQs". Microsoft.
- ^ "Microsoft confirms takeover of Skype". BBC. May 10, 2011. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
- ^ Blodget, Henry (August 23, 2013). "And Microsoft Is Giving Up On The Software Business!". Business Insider Australia. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ^ "Notify The Next Of Kin". InformationWeek. June 30, 2010. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ "Microsoft sees shares hit record high". BBC. October 21, 2016. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
- ^ "Microsoft's cloud focus could mean yet more layoffs". Engadget. July 3, 2017. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
- ^ "U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – Linkedin". US SEC. December 8, 2016. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
As a result of the Merger, a change in control of [Linkedin] occurred and [Linkedin] became a wholly-owned subsidiary of [Microsoft]. The transaction resulted in the payment of approximately $26.4 billion in cash merger consideration.
- ^ "Microsoft to begin "doubling down" on games following acquisition of Activision, CEO says". Catherine Lewis. TechRadar. October 24, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
- ^ Warren, Tom (October 13, 2023). "Microsoft completes Activision Blizzard acquisition, Call of Duty now part of Xbox". The Verge. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
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