Editing Microsoft (section)

{{Short description|American multinational technology corporation}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
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{{Use American English|date=May 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Microsoft Corporation
| logo = [[File:Microsoft logo and wordmark.svg|upright=1.15|frameless]]
| logo_caption = Logo used since 2012
| logo_alt = A square divided into four sub-squares, colored red-orange, green, yellow and blue (clockwise), with the company name appearing to its right
| image = Aerial Microsoft West Campus August 2009.jpg
| image_upright = 1.15
| image_caption = Aerial view of the [[Microsoft campus]] in Redmond
| trade_name = 
| type = [[Public company|Public]]
| traded_as = {{Unbulleted list
| {{NASDAQ|MSFT}}
| [[Nasdaq-100]] component
| [[Dow Jones Industrial Average|DJIA]] component
| [[S&P 100]] component
| [[S&P 500]] component
}}
| ISIN = {{ISIN|sl=n|pl=y|US5949181045}}
| industry = [[Information technology]]
| products = {{Unbulleted list
| [[Software development]]
| [[Computer hardware]]
| [[Consumer electronics]]
| [[Social networking service]]
| [[Cloud computing]]
| [[Video game industry|Video games]]
| [[Internet]]
| [[Corporate venture capital]]
}}
| predecessor = [[Traf-O-Data]]
| founded = {{Start date and age|1975|04|04}} in {{Nowrap|[[Albuquerque, New Mexico]], U.S.}}
| founders = {{Unbulleted list
| [[Bill Gates]]
| [[Paul Allen]]
}}
| hq_location = [[One Microsoft Way]]
| hq_location_city = {{nowrap|[[Redmond, Washington]]}}
| hq_location_country = U.S.
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = {{ubl|[[Satya Nadella]] ([[chairman]] & [[Chief executive officer|CEO]])|[[Brad Smith (American lawyer)|Brad Smith]] ([[Vice-Chairman|vice chairman]] & [[President (corporate title)|president]])|Bill Gates<!-- Please do not link; this has been already linked. See [[WP:OVERLINK]] --> ([[adviser|technical adviser]])}}
| brands = {{Flatlist|
* [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]
* [[Microsoft 365]]
* [[Microsoft Teams|Teams]]
* [[Visual Studio]]
* [[Xbox]]
* [[Microsoft Dynamics 365|Dynamics]]
* [[Microsoft Surface|Surface]]
}}
| services = {{Flatlist|
* [[Microsoft Edge|Edge]]
* [[Microsoft Azure|Azure]]
* [[Microsoft Bing|Bing]]
* [[LinkedIn]]
* [[Viva Engage]]
* [[Microsoft 365]]
* [[OneDrive]]
* [[Dynamics 365]]
* [[Microsoft Outlook|Outlook]]
* [[GitHub]]
* [[Microsoft Store (digital)|Microsoft Store]]
* [[Windows Update]]
* [[Xbox Game Pass|Game Pass]]
* [[Xbox network]]
}}
| revenue = {{Increase}} {{US$|245.1}}{{nbsp}}billion
| revenue_year = 2024
| operating_income = {{Increase}} {{US$|109.4}}{{nbsp}}billion
| income_year = 2024
| net_income = {{Increase}} {{US$|88.1}}{{nbsp}}billion
| net_income_year = 2024
| assets = {{Increase}} {{US$|512.1}}{{nbsp}}billion
| assets_year = 2024
| equity = {{Increase}} {{US$|268.5}}{{nbsp}}billion
| equity_year = 2024
| num_employees = 228,000
| num_employees_year = 2024
| divisions = {{Plainlist|
* [[Microsoft Gaming]]
* [[Microsoft 365]]
* [[Microsoft Research]]
* Windows and Devices Group
* Microsoft Cloud 
* Microsoft AI
* Microsoft Security
* Microsoft Industry 
* Microsoft Business Applications
* Microsoft Developer
}}
| subsid = {{Plainlist|
* [[GitHub]]
* [[LinkedIn]]
}}
| website = {{URL|https://www.microsoft.com/|microsoft.com}}
| footnotes = Financials {{as of|2024|6|30|lc=y|df=US}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000789019/000095017024087843/msft-20240630.htm |title=Microsoft Corporation Form 10-K |date=July 30, 2024 |publisher=[[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] |pages=8, 56, 58}}</ref>
| module = {{infobox network service provider|child=yes|asn=8075}}
}}
{{Bill Gates series}}

<!--Brief introduction-->'''Microsoft Corporation''' is an American [[multinational corporation]] and [[technology company|technology conglomerate]] headquartered in [[Redmond, Washington]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Microsoft Investor Relations - FAQs |url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/faq.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250421185334/https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/faq |archive-date=2025-04-21 |website=Microsoft}}</ref> Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the [[History of personal computers#The early 1980s and home computers|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 [[List of the largest software companies|largest software maker]], one of the [[Trillion-dollar company|most valuable]] public U.S. companies,{{Efn|After Apple and Amazon, respectively}} and one of the [[List of most valuable brands|most valuable brands]] globally.<!--END Brief introduction; do not overload this section-->

<!--Brief history-->Microsoft was founded by [[Bill Gates]] and [[Paul Allen]] to develop and sell [[BASIC interpreter]]s for the [[Altair 8800]]. It rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with [[MS-DOS]] in the mid-1980s, followed by Windows. During the 41 years from 1980 to 2021 Microsoft released 9 versions of [[MS-DOS]] with a median frequency of 2 years, and 13 versions of Windows with a median frequency of 3 years. The company's 1986 [[initial public offering]] (IPO) and subsequent rise in its share price created three billionaires and an estimated 12,000&nbsp;millionaires among Microsoft employees. Since the 1990s, it has increasingly diversified from the operating system market. [[Steve Ballmer]] replaced Gates as CEO in 2000.  He oversaw the then-largest of [[List of mergers and acquisitions by Microsoft|Microsoft's corporate acquisitions]] in [[Skype Technologies]] in 2011,<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 10, 2011 |title=Microsoft confirms takeover of Skype |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-13343600 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620073353/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-13343600 |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |access-date=April 29, 2018 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> and an increased focus on hardware<ref>{{Cite news |last=Blodget |first=Henry |date=August 23, 2013 |title=And Microsoft Is Giving Up On The Software Business! |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-device-and-services-2013-8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802165822/https://www.businessinsider.com.au/microsoft-device-and-services-2013-8 |archive-date=August 2, 2017 |access-date=August 2, 2017 |work=Business Insider Australia |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 30, 2010 |title=Notify The Next Of Kin |url=http://www.informationweek.com/applications/notify-the-next-of-kin/d/d-id/1090416 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424124515/http://www.informationweek.com/applications/notify-the-next-of-kin/d/d-id/1090416 |archive-date=April 24, 2014 |access-date=April 24, 2014 |work=[[InformationWeek]]}}</ref> that led to its first in-house PC line, the [[Microsoft Surface|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]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 21, 2016 |title=Microsoft sees shares hit record high |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37724557 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016012110/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37724557 |archive-date=October 16, 2017 |access-date=October 7, 2017 |website=[[BBC]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 3, 2017 |title=Microsoft's cloud focus could mean yet more layoffs |url=https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/03/microsofts-cloud-focus-could-mean-yet-more-layoffs/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802164433/https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/03/microsofts-cloud-focus-could-mean-yet-more-layoffs/ |archive-date=August 2, 2017 |access-date=October 7, 2017 |website=Engadget}}</ref> as well as its large acquisition of [[LinkedIn]] for $26.2&nbsp;billion in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 8, 2016 |title=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission{{Snd}} Linkedin |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1271024/000110465916161289/a16-22816_18k.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018154931/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1271024/000110465916161289/a16-22816_18k.htm |archive-date=October 18, 2017 |access-date=April 29, 2018 |work=US SEC |quote=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.}}</ref> 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 and [[Acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft|acquiring]] [[Activision Blizzard]] for $68.7 billion in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Warren |first=Tom |date=October 13, 2023 |title=Microsoft completes Activision Blizzard acquisition, Call of Duty now part of Xbox |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/13/23791235/microsoft-activision-blizzard-acquisition-complete-finalized |access-date=November 1, 2023 |website=The Verge |language=en}}</ref><!--END Brief history-->

<!--Products-->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 [[List of Microsoft operating systems|operating systems]] and the [[Microsoft Office]] and [[Microsoft 365]] suite of productivity applications, which most notably include the [[Microsoft Word|Word]] word processor and [[Microsoft Excel|Excel]] spreadsheet editor. Its flagship [[List of Microsoft hardware|hardware products]] are the Surface lineup of personal computers and [[Xbox]] video game consoles, the latter of which includes the [[Xbox network]]; the company also provides a range of consumer Internet services such as [[Microsoft Bing|Bing]] web search, the [[MSN]] web portal, the [[Outlook.com]] ([[Hotmail]]) email service and the [[Microsoft Store]]. In the enterprise and development fields, Microsoft most notably provides the [[Microsoft Azure|Azure]] [[cloud computing]] platform, [[Microsoft SQL Server]] database software, and [[Visual Studio]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}<!--END Products-->

<!--Current status-->Microsoft is considered one of the [[Big Tech|Big Five]] American [[information technology]] companies, alongside [[Alphabet Inc.|Alphabet]],{{Efn|Parent company of Google}} [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]], [[Apple Inc.|Apple]], and [[Meta Platforms|Meta]].{{Efn|Parent company of Facebook}} In April 2019, Microsoft reached a trillion-dollar [[Market capitalization|market cap]], becoming the third public U.S. company to be [[Trillion-dollar company|valued at over $1 trillion]]. It [[Criticism of Microsoft|has been criticized]] for its monopolistic practices, and [[List of Microsoft software|the company's software]] has been criticized for problems with [[ease of use]], [[Robustness (computer science)|robustness]], and [[Computer security|security]].<!--END Current status-->