Is Microsoft Stock a Buy Now?

By Keithen Drury – Mar 13, 2026 at 6:57AM ESTKey PointsAfter steaming ahead for several years, its shares have slumped. However, Microsoft continues to post excellent growth. Its stock looks cheap from an operating earnings standpoint.Microsoft (MSFT 0.73%) has been a stock market leader over nearly the past decade, but it has fallen a bit recently. While some stocks have fallen out of favor with the market, it's usually for slowing growth or exploding expenses. While Microsoft's capital expenditures are rising alongside every other artificial intelligence (AI) hyperscaler, it's nothing out of the norm. Furthermore, many of those companies are near all-time highs, so Microsoft's latest sell-off is a real head-scratcher. As a result, I think right now is an excellent time to buy Microsoft stock, as there have seldom been buying opportunities like this over the past decade. Image source: Microsoft. Microsoft has unlinked from the market For the past decade, Microsoft and the market have been closely tied together. However, that link broke recently. ^SPX data by YCharts While Microsoft sold off deeper than the S&P 500 from time to time, it was always selling off at around the same period, which is why the chart depicting the percent off of an all-time high matches nicely. However, the market is only down around 3% from its all-time high right now, while Microsoft is down around 25%. That's a huge shift from the normal link we've known over the past decade. Microsoft also isn't doing anything wrong. For its fiscal 2026's second quarter (ended Dec. 31), management expected revenue between $79.5 billion and $80.6 billion. They delivered revenue of $81.3 billion, growing at a 17% pace. So not only did they outperform internal expectations, but they're also growing at a rapid pace. ExpandNASDAQ: MSFTMicrosoftToday's Change(-0.73%) $-2.95Current Price$401.93Key Data PointsMarket Cap$3.0TDay's Range$401.77 - $406.1152wk Range$344.79 - $555.45Volume4.7KAvg Vol34MGross Margin68.59%Dividend Yield0.87% The star of the show is Azure, its cloud computing platform. Azure grew at a 39% pace, a figure that could have been higher if Microsoft used some of its newly installed computing resources for external use instead of internal use. Regardless, there's a huge backlog for cloud computing thanks to massive demand from generative AI, and that will keep Microsoft's primary growth engine powered for some time. From a valuation standpoint, Microsoft rarely gets this cheap. MSFT Operating PE Ratio data by YCharts I'm using the operating price-to-earnings ratio because it excludes one-time earnings effects and the gains of various investments. From this standpoint, Microsoft has rarely traded this cheaply over the past decade. It's not anything Microsoft is doing wrong; it's just the market's current sentiment. Investors should treat this sell-off as a gift, as it rarely occurs with Microsoft stock. Opportunities to buy Microsoft stock at this price tag only come around once every few years, and investors shouldn't squander this opportunity.Read NextMar 12, 2026 •By Leo SunHere's Why Microsoft Is Still the Safest AI Stock You Can Own in 2026Mar 11, 2026 •By Keithen Drury3 Unstoppable Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy in MarchMar 10, 2026 •By Trevor JennewineSoftware Bear Market: 2 AI Stocks With 42% and 47% Upside to Buy Now, According to Wall StreetMar 9, 2026 •By David Jagielski, CPAMicrosoft's Stock Is Off to Its Worst Start to a Year Since 2008. Is Now the Time to Buy?Mar 9, 2026 •By Manali Pradhan, CFAThe Agentic AI Market Could Grow 10X by 2030.

This Stock Is Leading the Charge.Mar 8, 2026 •By Keithen DruryBetter Stock to Buy Now: Microsoft or Netflix?About the AuthorKeithen Drury is a contributing Motley Fool technology analyst covering AI, semiconductors, cybersecurity, and SaaS stocks. In addition to The Motley Fool, Keithen is a mechanical engineer and has held roles at Honeywell and smaller industrial companies like Brand Hydraulics and Lincoln Industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Dordt University.TMFTripleOptionStocks MentionedMicrosoftNASDAQ: MSFT$401.93(-0.73%)-$2.95*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.