We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Microsoft Roundup: Surface Go, Azure Gains, Nadella Sells
Read MoreHide Full Article
This roundup discusses Microsoft’s (MSFT - Free Report) new tablet/laptop, Azure’s share gains in the IaaS space, Nadella’s stock sale and its deal with Starbucks:
The New Surface Go
Microsoft’s new 10-inch tablet dubbed Surface Go is a more portable version of its Surface Pro, with thick bezels, the familiar integrated kickstand, 3:2 aspect ratio display, all weighing 1.15 pounds at a starting price of $399. It comes with Microsoft’s proprietary Surface Connector port for charging and connecting to a desktop dock and includes a USB-C 3.1 port, capable of charging the tablet or outputting video and data to external devices. Adding a keyboard costs another $99 or $129, a Pen anther $99 and the new two-button Bluetooth Surface Mobile Mouse with scrollwheel another $34.99.
Under the hood is a front-facing camera facilitating facial recognition login, Intel’s dual-core seventh-generation Pentium Gold 4415Y processor, which allows a fanless design but packs less power. The base model comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. The $549 version comes with 8 GB RAM and 128GB storage. Battery life is also not that great (Microsoft says 9 hours, but that’s if you’re not using Chrome).
The Wi-Fi version will be followed by an LTE version later this year.
Microsoft’s own commentary notwithstanding, the tablet is likely to see limited success, mainly among Pro users looking for a more portable version. Even Windows is not a sell point because cheaper Windows laptops are available. On the other hand, it isn’t nearly as light as an iPad, nor as well supported by an app ecosystem to make it an attractive tablet.
Azure Gaining on AWS
A recent report from Gartner on the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) market in 2017 shows Microsoft, Alibaba (BABA - Free Report) , Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) and IBM (IBM - Free Report) taking share from Amazon and the rest of the market. While Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) remains the market leader by far with its 51.8% share, this is down from 53.7%, despite a growth rate of 25.0% from 2016.
Microsoft on the other hand, grew 98.2% for a 13.3% share, which is up from an 8.7% share in 2016. Alibaba at 4.6% Alphabet at 3.3% and IBM at 1.9% were well behind. The overall strength of the market, which grew 29.5% was attributed to IaaS adoption across mainstream organizations as cloud availability expands into new regions and countries.
According to Sid Nag, research director at Gartner, "Cloud-directed IT spending now constitutes more than 20 percent of the total IT budget for organizations using cloud. Many of these organizations are now using cloud to support production environments and business-critical operations."
Microsoft’s results include its platform services, so its exact market share is a little hard to determine. But it’s the company with the greatest potential to truly test Amazon’s might and eat away its first mover advantage.
Satya Nadella Sells Shares
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sold 328,000 shares (30% of hi holdings) in multiple trades at prices ranging from $109.08 to $109.68 to net him $35 million. This was his largest sale as CEO of the company, taking advantage of strong prices.
His position requires him to hold 15X his base salary (currently $1.45 million) in stock. His total compensation in 2017 was more than $20 million.
He now holds 778,596 shares of common stock.
A spokesman for Microsoft said that "The stock divestitures made today were for personal financial planning and diversification reasons," and that "Satya is committed to the continued success of the company and his holdings significantly exceed the holding requirements set by the Microsoft board of directors."
In Partnership With Starbucks
Starbucks (SBUX - Free Report) is joining a few others like Expedia, Shopify and CheapAir in accepting bitcoin as payment. The company’s goal is to increase payment options for its 15 million Starbucks Rewards members, for which it is partnering with Microsoft, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), BCG and others to form a new company called Bakkt.
This company will offer the infrastructure to facilitate transactions and will also take on warehousing and one-day delivery of bitcoins starting from November 2018. It isn’t clear what measures the company will take to ensure stability in bitcoin prices that can vary widely in a single day and is down 50% this year. But if it isn’t fruitful for Starbucks and leads to a deterioration in the value of its assets, it will be a deterrent to other consumer uses of the technology. In any case, it’s an interesting experiment.
Recommendation
Microsoft shares carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies
It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6% and +67.1%.
And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.
Image: Bigstock
Microsoft Roundup: Surface Go, Azure Gains, Nadella Sells
This roundup discusses Microsoft’s (MSFT - Free Report) new tablet/laptop, Azure’s share gains in the IaaS space, Nadella’s stock sale and its deal with Starbucks:
The New Surface Go
Microsoft’s new 10-inch tablet dubbed Surface Go is a more portable version of its Surface Pro, with thick bezels, the familiar integrated kickstand, 3:2 aspect ratio display, all weighing 1.15 pounds at a starting price of $399. It comes with Microsoft’s proprietary Surface Connector port for charging and connecting to a desktop dock and includes a USB-C 3.1 port, capable of charging the tablet or outputting video and data to external devices. Adding a keyboard costs another $99 or $129, a Pen anther $99 and the new two-button Bluetooth Surface Mobile Mouse with scrollwheel another $34.99.
Under the hood is a front-facing camera facilitating facial recognition login, Intel’s dual-core seventh-generation Pentium Gold 4415Y processor, which allows a fanless design but packs less power. The base model comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. The $549 version comes with 8 GB RAM and 128GB storage. Battery life is also not that great (Microsoft says 9 hours, but that’s if you’re not using Chrome).
The Wi-Fi version will be followed by an LTE version later this year.
Microsoft’s own commentary notwithstanding, the tablet is likely to see limited success, mainly among Pro users looking for a more portable version. Even Windows is not a sell point because cheaper Windows laptops are available. On the other hand, it isn’t nearly as light as an iPad, nor as well supported by an app ecosystem to make it an attractive tablet.
Azure Gaining on AWS
A recent report from Gartner on the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) market in 2017 shows Microsoft, Alibaba (BABA - Free Report) , Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) and IBM (IBM - Free Report) taking share from Amazon and the rest of the market. While Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) remains the market leader by far with its 51.8% share, this is down from 53.7%, despite a growth rate of 25.0% from 2016.
Microsoft on the other hand, grew 98.2% for a 13.3% share, which is up from an 8.7% share in 2016. Alibaba at 4.6% Alphabet at 3.3% and IBM at 1.9% were well behind. The overall strength of the market, which grew 29.5% was attributed to IaaS adoption across mainstream organizations as cloud availability expands into new regions and countries.
According to Sid Nag, research director at Gartner, "Cloud-directed IT spending now constitutes more than 20 percent of the total IT budget for organizations using cloud. Many of these organizations are now using cloud to support production environments and business-critical operations."
Microsoft’s results include its platform services, so its exact market share is a little hard to determine. But it’s the company with the greatest potential to truly test Amazon’s might and eat away its first mover advantage.
Satya Nadella Sells Shares
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sold 328,000 shares (30% of hi holdings) in multiple trades at prices ranging from $109.08 to $109.68 to net him $35 million. This was his largest sale as CEO of the company, taking advantage of strong prices.
His position requires him to hold 15X his base salary (currently $1.45 million) in stock. His total compensation in 2017 was more than $20 million.
He now holds 778,596 shares of common stock.
A spokesman for Microsoft said that "The stock divestitures made today were for personal financial planning and diversification reasons," and that "Satya is committed to the continued success of the company and his holdings significantly exceed the holding requirements set by the Microsoft board of directors."
In Partnership With Starbucks
Starbucks (SBUX - Free Report) is joining a few others like Expedia, Shopify and CheapAir in accepting bitcoin as payment. The company’s goal is to increase payment options for its 15 million Starbucks Rewards members, for which it is partnering with Microsoft, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), BCG and others to form a new company called Bakkt.
This company will offer the infrastructure to facilitate transactions and will also take on warehousing and one-day delivery of bitcoins starting from November 2018. It isn’t clear what measures the company will take to ensure stability in bitcoin prices that can vary widely in a single day and is down 50% this year. But if it isn’t fruitful for Starbucks and leads to a deterioration in the value of its assets, it will be a deterrent to other consumer uses of the technology. In any case, it’s an interesting experiment.
Recommendation
Microsoft shares carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies
It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6% and +67.1%.
And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.
See Them Free>>