Founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in the year 1975, Microsoft is an American multinational technology giant headquartered in Redmond, United States. Microsoft is one of the leading and largest multinational companies in the technology sector. Ever since its inception, the company has been growing rapidly by venturing into different sectors like gaming, computer hardware, consumer electronics, cloud computing, corporate venture capital, and its niche- software development.
In its early growth stage, Microsoft paved the way for the microcomputer revolution that sparked the widespread usage of personal computers at the individual and household level. Before the mid-1970s and ’80s, personal computers were never in the category of mass-market consumer goods.
After the development of microprocessors, the manufacturing cost of personal computers came down and eventually even common people started using them at the household level.
Microsoft, with its historic launch- Windows software product, kicked off with a successful start and today it stands to be one of the leading multi-billion-dollar companies worldwide.
Microsoft’s majority shareholders are Satya Nadella, the CEO; Bradford L Smith, President of Microsoft, Jean P Courtois, Executive President and Vice President, Microsoft Global Sales; Vanguard., an American Investment management company, BlackRock, an American multinational investment management company; and State Street Corp, an American financial services and bank holding organization.
Of them, Satya Nadella, Bradford L Smith, and Jean P Courtois are individual insider shareholders who own more than 10% stake in the company. On the other hand, Vanguard Group Inc., BlackRock Inc., State Street Corporation, are institutional investors who own 70.7% of Microsoft’s shares.
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Top Shareholders of Microsoft
Satya Nadella
Satya Nadella is the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft. He played a key role in shaping the implementation of consumer business and Cloud. Before being nominated for the CEO profile, Satya Nadella played served as the executive vice president for the Microsoft enterprise and cloud technology. He is known for his remarkable work in transforming the cloud business model and services. Currently, he has 13,37,768 shares of Microsoft.
Bradford L Smith
Bradford L Smith is the Chief legal officer and President of Microsoft. Bradford handles and oversees company’s public initiatives and legal matters. He is known to effectively handle the antitrust controversies around the world. He currently owns 0.01% of Microsoft shares.
Jean P Courtois
Jean P Courtois is serving as the Executive Vice President of Microsoft Global Sales and Operations. He currently owns 600512 shares of Microsoft. He is known to held senior management positions and leadership positions in the past. He played a key role in handling the key projects of Microsoft with great efficiency.
How does Microsoft Make Money?
Microsoft’s revenue is majorly generated through software development, support and licence services, cloud-based integrations and services, devices, gaming, and social media platform. This tech giant’s consumer bracket ranges from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to individual customers (including social media users).
The products or services include devices like Microsoft PC accessories, Lumia phones; gaming accessories and software like Xbox hardware, Xbox Live. Through Xbox live, they offer third-party video game royalties and charges revenue generated from transaction fee, subscription, and advertising costs. Along with these Microsoft has a dedicated Office consumer applications arm which offers Microsoft Office applications like MS Office, Office 365, Skype, One drive, Outlook.com.
The professional networking platform- LinkedIn is also one of the key revenue drivers for this company. Of all, LinkedIn is currently one of the most-used professional social media platforms for networking and career development.
Their premium feature- LinkedIn Premium has been an effective tool for mid-level and beginner corporate employees to enhance their skills and upgrade their careers. Their recent additions like story, poll to the platform made the communication more interactive and transparent.
Wrapping Up
Now that you have an idea about what Microsoft is all about and who owns it, check out their business model here for more information. If you want to know more about businesses and their owners, refer to the Zeen website.
