Microsoft Approves New $60 Billion Share Buyback Program

(Reuters) – Microsoft Corp said on Monday its board of directors has approved a new share buyback program worth up to $60 billion.

The tech giant announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, reflecting an increase of 8 cents, or 10%, from the previous quarter.

Microsoft said it will hold its annual shareholders meeting on December 10.

In July, the company announced that it would spend more this fiscal year on AI infrastructure. The company reported a 77.6% jump in capital spending in the quarter ended June 30, largely due to AI-related spending.

The company reported a slowdown in growth in its Azure cloud business in the reported quarter, but said growth would accelerate in the second half of fiscal 2025.

Big tech companies, including Microsoft and Alphabet Inc's Google, are facing pressure from investors to show a return on the billions of dollars they have invested in AI infrastructure.

Microsoft is one of the few major companies that discloses its AI contributions in its quarterly earnings, as most companies have yet to see a major boost from AI investments.

Last month, the company restructured how it reports results for its business units, moving some search and news advertising revenue to its Azure cloud computing unit.

Among other big tech companies, Apple unveiled a $110 billion share buyback program in May after reporting upbeat quarterly results.

Microsoft shares were up slightly in after-hours trading. The stock is up about 15% so far this year.

(Reporting by Harishta Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Elori)