Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Forecast and Price Target (2026)
Last updated October 2026
Short answer
53 analysts covering Microsoft (MSFT) carry an average price target of $596.22 as of October 2026, +12.7% against the $529.05 price at the time of the pull. The published targets run from $440.00 to $870.00, a spread of 72% of the average, so the disagreement is wide. The rating split is 53 buy, 3 hold, 0 sell. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
MSFT analyst price targets
MSFT analyst data as of October 2026, sourced from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a forecast Walnut endorses, and targets are typically set on a 12-month view. Verify current figures before deciding.
The average target of $596.22 sits above the $529.05 price, +12.7%. The median is $600.00, and where the two differ the median is the steadier read, because one unusually high or low target cannot drag it.
What the MSFT target range actually tells you
The published targets span $440.00 to $870.00. That gap is 72% of the average target, which counts as wide disagreement. A spread that wide is the most informative number on this page: analysts who all follow the company closely cannot agree within a factor that large, which means the outcome genuinely depends on assumptions nobody can settle yet.
The useful move is to read the high target as one bull scenario and the low target as one bear scenario, then ask which set of assumptions you find more plausible. Both cases are worked through on the MSFT is it a buy page.
Recent analyst actions on MSFT
| Firm | Action | Target | Prior | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| StoneX | Raised (Buy) | $600.00 | $525.00 | October 16, 2026 |
| UBS | Raised (Buy) | $675.00 | $525.00 | October 15, 2026 |
| Citigroup | Raised (Buy) | $636.00 | $600.00 | October 15, 2026 |
| Mizuho | Raised (Outperform) | $600.00 | $510.00 | October 15, 2026 |
| Jefferies | Raised (Buy) | $650.00 | $575.00 | October 15, 2026 |
| TD Cowen | Raised (Buy) | $625.00 | $540.00 | October 15, 2026 |
| Barclays | Raised (Overweight) | $600.00 | $512.00 | October 13, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI Group | Raised (Outperform) | $635.00 | $528.00 | October 7, 2026 |
| Scotiabank | Raised (Sector Outperform) | $615.00 | $510.00 | October 5, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Raised (Overweight) | $725.00 | $700.00 | October 1, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Raised (Overweight) | $610.00 | $550.00 | September 30, 2026 |
| Stifel | Raised (Buy) | $575.00 | $530.00 | September 23, 2026 |
The most recent published rating actions on MSFT within the last six months, from Yahoo Finance. Each row is dated because a target only means something alongside the date it was set. Walnut is not an investment adviser and does not endorse any of these views.
In the last six months there have been 12 raises and 0 cuts among these actions. The direction of revisions is often more telling than the level, because it shows which way informed opinion is moving.
How analysts rate MSFT
Of the analysts with a published rating, 53 say buy, 3 say hold, and 0 say sell, so 95% carry a buy. That mix has been broadly steady over the last three months.
Read the distribution rather than the label. Sell ratings are rare across the entire market for structural reasons, so a stock with no sell ratings is unremarkable, while even a handful of them is worth understanding.
Why a MSFT price target is not a prediction
- It is a 12-month model output. An analyst picks assumptions for revenue, margin, and a multiple, and the target falls out of the arithmetic. Change one assumption and the target moves a lot.
- The distribution is skewed. Sell-side coverage carries far more buy ratings than sell ratings across the whole market, so the average is not a balanced vote.
- Targets follow price as often as they lead it. Revisions frequently arrive after a move, not before, which is why a rising target is weak evidence on its own.
- Nobody is scored on it. There is no cost to a target that never gets close, so treat accuracy as unverified unless you check the firm's record yourself.
MSFT earnings and revenue forecast
For the fiscal year ending Jun 2027, the 50 analysts publishing estimates on MSFT expect earnings of $19.78 per share (+14% on the year before) and revenue of $391.3 billion (+18%).
| Period | EPS estimate | EPS growth | Revenue estimate | Revenue growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarter ending Sep 2026 next quarter to report, 38 analysts | $4.72 $4.43 to $4.86 | +14% | $90.7 billion $89.6 billion to $92.7 billion | +17% |
Quarter ending Dec 2026 the quarter after, 37 analysts | $4.82 $4.65 to $4.97 | +16% | $95.6 billion $93.5 billion to $98.4 billion | +18% |
Fiscal year ending Jun 2027 fiscal year next to report, 50 analysts | $19.78 $19.21 to $20.70 | +14% | $391.3 billion $380 billion to $402.7 billion | +18% |
Fiscal year ending Jun 2028 the fiscal year after, 51 analysts | $23.72 $22.08 to $26.00 | +20% | $468.3 billion $433.2 billion to $503 billion | +20% |
Consensus estimates for MSFT published by sell-side analysts, as of October 2026, from Yahoo Finance. Each figure is the average of the analysts counted, with the lowest and highest estimate beneath it; growth compares with the same period a year earlier and is left blank where either figure is a loss. Estimates change constantly. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Estimates are the most widely published forecast there is: many more analysts model a company's earnings than publish a price target on it. They are also revised constantly, and the direction of those revisions into a report is often more informative than the level. Microsoft next reports on October 28, 2026, which is when these figures get tested against actual results.
Is there a 2030 forecast for MSFT?
Not a published one. Analyst price targets run to about twelve months, occasionally two years, and the firms covering MSFT do not put out a 2030 number. Anything presenting one is extrapolating a growth rate rather than reporting research, and a figure produced that way tells you about the assumption chosen, not about the company.
The furthest-out consensus that exists is for the fiscal year ending Jun 2028: analysts expect earnings of $23.72 per share, +20% on the fiscal year ending Jun 2027 estimate of $19.78. Beyond that, nobody publishes estimates, so any later number is an extrapolation.
On the figures we hold as of October 2026, MSFT trades at about 29.8 times trailing earnings and 22.4 times forward earnings. A forward multiple below the trailing one means the market expects earnings to grow, and the size of that gap is roughly how much growth is already in the price.
That is the more useful frame for a ten-year question. A share price is the market’s estimate of future cash flows discounted to today, so the multiple is already a statement about growth. The long-horizon question is whether Microsoft can deliver what is priced in, and what would have to change for that to break. Both are answerable from the drivers and risks below. A number for 2030 is not.
What could move MSFT from here
In short: the drivers cited most often are AI as the platform, Closing the gap with AWS in cloud, Sticky enterprise software. The risk cited most often against it is the largest open question is the return on AI capex: Microsoft is spending more than $50 billion a year on AI and cloud infrastructure, and if enterprise adoption is slower than expected the payback stretches out.
Both sides are worked through properly, with the high and low targets used as the bull and bear anchors, on the MSFT is it a buy page. This page deliberately stops at the numbers.
Investing in Microsoft with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how MSFT fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the price target for Microsoft (MSFT)?
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The average analyst price target for MSFT is $596.22 as of October 2026, across 53 analysts. That is +12.7% against the $529.05 price at the time of the data pull, so the consensus sits above where the stock trades. The median target, which is less distorted by one extreme view, is $600.00. Targets move constantly; verify the current figure before relying on it.
How high could MSFT go?
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The highest published target is $870.00, which is +64.4% against the $529.05 price. That is one analyst's most optimistic case, not a ceiling and not a forecast. The lowest is $440.00. The gap between them is the honest answer to this question: analysts who all follow Microsoft closely disagree by 72% of the average target, so treat any single number as one scenario.
How many analysts cover MSFT?
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53 analysts publish estimates on MSFT as of October 2026. Of those with a published rating, 53 say buy, 3 hold, and 0 sell, so 95% carry a buy rating. More coverage usually means the consensus is better informed, though it also means the obvious points are already in the price.
Are analyst price targets for MSFT accurate?
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Treat them as informed opinion, not measurement. Two things are worth knowing. Sell-side ratings skew positive across the market, and MSFT is no exception at 95% buy ratings, so the distribution is not a balanced vote. And targets tend to follow the share price at least as often as they lead it, getting raised after a stock has already run. They are most useful as a read on what the informed consensus expects, and least useful as a prediction of where the price lands.
Has the MSFT price target been raised or cut recently?
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In the last six months there have been 12 raises and 0 cuts among the published actions on MSFT. The most recent was StoneX, which raised its target to $600.00 from $525.00 on October 16, 2026. The direction of revisions often tells you more than the level, because it shows which way the informed view is moving.
What are analysts' earnings estimates for Microsoft (MSFT)?
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For the fiscal year ending Jun 2027, the 50 analysts publishing estimates on MSFT expect earnings of $19.78 per share (+14% on the year before) and revenue of $391.3 billion (+18%). For the fiscal year ending Jun 2028, the consensus is $23.72 per share, +20% on the year before. These are consensus estimates as of October 2026, the average of what the covering analysts publish, and they are revised constantly, especially around each earnings report. They describe expectations, not results.
When does MSFT report earnings next?
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Microsoft's next earnings report is scheduled for October 28, 2026. The report is when the estimates on this page get tested against actual results, which is why targets and estimates tend to move most in the days after it.
What is the MSFT stock price prediction for 2030?
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There is no published one. Analyst targets run to about twelve months and no firm covering MSFT publishes a 2030 figure, so any site showing one has extrapolated a growth rate rather than reported research. The answerable version of the question is what the current price already assumes about Microsoft's earnings, which the forward multiple on this page sets out, and what would have to change for that to break.
Will MSFT go up in 2026?
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Nobody knows, including the analysts publishing targets. What the numbers on this page tell you is where informed opinion currently sits and how much it disagrees with itself, which is genuinely useful and completely different from a prediction. The risk most often cited against Microsoft: The largest open question is the return on AI capex: Microsoft is spending more than $50 billion a year on AI and cloud infrastructure, and if enterprise adoption is slower than expected the payback stretches out. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice, and does not publish price targets of its own. The analyst figures on this page come from a October 2026 data pull of published third-party research, are approximate, and change constantly. Verify current figures with your broker before acting on them.
Guides that feature MSFT
MSFT is one of the names covered in these guides. Each one puts the stock next to its peers so you can see where it fits rather than judging it alone.