Microsoft went ex-dividend on August 20, 2026, with a payout of $0.91 per share totaling approximately $6.76 billion, the largest single-day dividend distribution among 26 companies taking that action. Applied Materials ranked second with a $420.8 million payout, significantly trailing Microsoft’s scale.
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, Microsoft reported capital expenditures of $115.95 billion, nearly double the prior year’s $64.55 billion. Total dividends paid for the full fiscal year reached $26.45 billion, while repurchases and dividends combined exceeded $43 billion in shareholder returns. Operating cash flow of $182.94 billion supported these outlays, though free cash flow declined 6.46% year-over-year. The company’s capex spending substantially outpaced its dividend payments, with capital investments running approximately 4.5 times greater than shareholder distributions.
Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood stated during earnings that Microsoft would maintain a free cash flow positive position in fiscal 2027 despite anticipated further growth in capital spending. The company projected fiscal 2027 capex could reach approximately $175 billion, driven by demand signals across its portfolio. This positions Microsoft as the highest capital spender among major technology peers, including Amazon at $131.82 billion for 2025, Alphabet at $91.45 billion, and Meta at $69.69 billion, while still maintaining regular dividend distributions to shareholders.
Microsoft’s strategic investments underpin growth across key business lines. Azure crossed $100 billion in annual revenue, Copilot reached 30 million paid seats, and commercial remaining performance obligations hit $678 billion, up 84% year-over-year. Stock performance reflected mixed sentiment, closing at $481.15 on the ex-dividend date, down 3.91% over the preceding year but up 0.12% year-to-date, with a 21.2% gain over the prior month providing some recovery.
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