Microsoft is a BUY due to its strong cloud service, Azure

Company Profile:
Microsoft is a technology company that develops, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products and services.
Its business is organized into three segments: productivity and business processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing.

Summary of Microsoft Business:

Microsoft is now doing business in 190 countries. Its domination in the world of PC has earned MSFT a few legal suits for monopoly.

MSFT has three business segments:

1) Personal Computing: includes Windows, Surface, and their gaming division. Although the PC industry is mature, MSFT has two growth vectors in their tablets (Surface) and games (Xbox).

2) Productivity and Business Process: includes the Office suites, Dynamic products, and cloud services along with their latest important acquisition: LinkedIn.

3) Intelligent Cloud: server products and cloud services (led by Azure) and enterprise services.

While benefiting from a strong core business model generating cash flow, management has proven its ability to develop other growth vectors. Their most recent success is called Azure, which is No.2 in public cloud services. Azure has doubled its sales over the past 12 months and is prone for several years of growth. Microsoft also has strong relationship with corporate America and will open the door for additional cross-selling opportunities as the cloud business expands. Therefore, Microsoft is a BUY.
 

MSFT Dividend Trends:

MSFT has sucessfully increased their dividend payments for at least 10 consecutive years. There are 265 companies that achieved this milestone.

Financial Analysis:

Microsoft has a strong ROE and ROA compared to sector median and country median. 

SWOT analysis of Microsoft:

Strengths:	Weakness:
Brand loyalty	Dependence on hardware
Brand reputation	Criticism over security flaws
Easy to use software	Mature PC markets
Strong distribution channels	Slow to innovate
Financial performance
Opportunities:	Threats:
Cloud based services	Intense competition in software products
Mobile Advertising	Changing consumer needs and habits
Growth through acquisition
Transformation Opportunity