Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) went ex-dividend on August 20, 2026, distributing $6,757,245,950 to shareholders at $0.91 per share, with payment scheduled for September 10, 2026.
That single distribution was the largest among the 26 companies going ex-dividend that day, dwarfing the runner-up Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), which paid out $420,798,270.
Marriott (NASDAQ: MAR), SBA Communications (NASDAQ: SBAC), and LKQ (NASDAQ: LKQ) also went ex-dividend the same day, but none approached Microsoft’s scale of capital return.
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, Microsoft’s capital expenditures reached $115.948 billion, up sharply from $64.551 billion in the prior year.
Full-year dividends paid totaled $26.445 billion, meaning the company spent roughly four and a half dollars on capex for every dollar it returned to shareholders.
Operating cash flow of $182.935 billion financed that spending, though free cash flow still declined 6.46% year over year.
Microsoft has now paid $0.91 per share for four consecutive quarters, with ex-dates falling in November 2025, February 2026, May 2026, and August 2026.
The board has historically announced its annual dividend increase in mid-September, with last year’s step-up from $0.83 to $0.91 declared on September 15, 2025, making the upcoming announcement the key date for income investors.
CFO Amy Hood stated on the fiscal fourth-quarter call that Microsoft returned “over $43 billion” to shareholders during the fiscal year through dividends and repurchases, and forecast the company will “remain free cash flow positive in FY27.”
Hood also flagged that fiscal 2027 capex “will grow year over year, given demand signals across our portfolio,” with an operating-lease shift pushing the reported figure closer to approximately $175 billion.
Among peers, Amazon reported $131.819 billion in capex for 2025 and paid no dividend, while Alphabet reported $91.447 billion in capex and paid $10.049 billion in dividends.
Meta reported $69.691 billion in capex alongside $5.324 billion in dividends, meaning Microsoft is outspending all three while still writing the largest shareholder check.
Shares closed at $481.15 on August 20, 2026, down 3.91% over one year and up just 0.12% year to date, though a 21.2% one-month rally has partially restored investor confidence.
Azure crossed $100 billion in annual revenue, Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, and commercial remaining performance obligations hit $678 billion, up 84%, underpinning the aggressive investment case.
CEO Satya Nadella framed the company’s strategy directly: “We are advancing the frontier on the cost-to-outcome curve, ensuring every customer can turn tokens into business results.”
Whether that curve bends quickly enough to sustain and grow the September dividend remains the central question investors will be watching as the announcement window approaches.
