Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting For Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) After Its Third-Quarter Results

As you might know, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) recently reported its quarterly numbers. Microsoft reported US$62b in revenue, roughly in line with analyst forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.94 beat expectations, being 4.0% higher than what the analysts expected. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Microsoft after the latest results.

Check out our latest analysis for Microsoft

After the latest results, the 51 analysts covering Microsoft are now predicting revenues of US$280.2b in 2025. If met, this would reflect a notable 18% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to swell 15% to US$13.37. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$279.2b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$13.35 in 2025. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.

It will come as no surprise then, to learn that the consensus price target is largely unchanged at US$475. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. The most optimistic Microsoft analyst has a price target of US$600 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$400. These price targets show that analysts do have some differing views on the business, but the estimates do not vary enough to suggest to us that some are betting on wild success or utter failure.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. We can infer from the latest estimates that forecasts expect a continuation of Microsoft'shistorical trends, as the 14% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 is roughly in line with the 13% annual growth over the past five years. Juxtapose this against our data, which suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the industry are forecast to see their revenues grow 13% per year. So although Microsoft is expected to maintain its revenue growth rate, it's only growing at about the rate of the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. They also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, with the company predicted to grow at about the same rate as the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Microsoft going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Even so, be aware that Microsoft is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.