(Bloomberg) — Microsoft Corp. announced a new $60 billion share buyback program, the largest share repurchase authorization ever, and raised its quarterly dividend by 10%.
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The software company said shareholders will receive a quarterly dividend of 83 cents per share starting Nov. 21, up from 75 cents today. The share buyback agreement, which has no expiration date, replaces a $60 billion buyback program announced in 2021.
Microsoft, the world’s second-most valuable company, has capitalized on the market boom for artificial intelligence in recent years. The software maker has enriched its product line with AI technology from partner OpenAI and touted the tools’ ability to enhance its business applications, such as Teams, Word and Outlook. Microsoft unveiled a new suite of AI tools earlier on Monday.
Shares rose less than 1% in extended trading after the buyback was announced after closing at $431.34 in regular trading on Monday. The stock has risen 31% in the past year.
Microsoft had $75.5 billion in cash and equivalents as of June 30, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Free cash flow in the fiscal fourth quarter was $23.3 billion, the Redmond, Washington-based company said in July, “up 18% year over year, reflecting higher capital spending to support our cloud and AI offerings.”
(Updated with extended trading in the fourth paragraph.)
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