Remember how, just yesterday, tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) shuffled the deck in its HR department in a very big way, getting rid of its Chief Diversity Officer, adding a vice president of people and culture, and several other points? Turns out there were more developments waiting in the wings. The news was a bit too much for shareholders, though, who sent shares sliding over 2% in Friday’s trading.
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Perhaps the biggest change outside of HR was that there is now a hiring freeze on for several sales divisions. The cloud unit, as well as several North American sales groups, have been told to suspend all new hiring. If a candidate does not already have a job offer, they will not get one.
Microsoft wanted to launch this process as a means to “…cut costs and boost margins,” which seems both important and contradictory given the sheer amount of cash Microsoft has been piling into data center construction. Indeed, several programming groups are actively hiring at this very minute, reports note. But with the end of Microsoft’s fiscal year now about three months out—at the end of June—it could be that Microsoft is just limiting some issues for the time being.
Developments for Xbox
This may be the last full year for Xbox Series S and Series X, especially if the new Xbox comes out in late 2027 after all. But there is no shortage of new titles coming out, as revealed by the recently-concluded Xbox Partner Preview event. From vampire hunters to dark farming sims, Microsoft has it all coming soon to its console of choice.
While there were no real announcements about upcoming hardware, few were expecting such announcements as it was clear this event would focus on gameplay. Naturally, the games were received with different levels of interest as tastes dictated, but there certainly seems to be quite a few games on the way. That suggests there should be something for just about everyone here, and that should help keep Xbox in the hunt a while longer.
Is Microsoft a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on MSFT stock based on 33 Buys and three Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 3.39% loss in its share price over the past year, the average MSFT price target of $583.68 per share implies 62.58% upside potential.
