Tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) is not what it once was. And it is working to make changes in light of that fact. Its ability to sell subscription-based software seems to be on the decline in the wake of what some call the “SaaSpocalypse,” and Microsoft is pivoting in a bid to get back on track. The latest attempts are not doing as well as some might like, and Microsoft shares slipped fractionally in Friday afternoon’s trading.
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Reports note that Satya Nadella himself is taking a hand in the action, working with the teams to build AI products and even coding some up himself. This is normally not seen in a company the size of Microsoft, and is more fitting for “…some scrappy startup where the CEO routinely logs on for coding sprints….”
But Nadella is clearly concerned, and taking matters into his own hands. He recently announced he was stepping back from commercial duties to focus on product development, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) products. Microsoft may not have made the most of its early lead in AI, but it is rapidly working to get that lead back.
Ball Hits the Ground Rolling
Yesterday, we found out that Matthew Ball, a long-time video game market analyst, joined Microsoft as its chief strategy officer for Xbox. And reports note that Ball has hit the ground rolling, with a set of new plans already in the works. One of the biggest things Ball looks to do is “…revive storied franchises,” though just which of these will get revived is unclear.
Ball is a notorious gamer, averaging somewhere around 600 to 1,000 hours a year for the last few years, and toward the higher end during the pandemic years. And certainly, some franchises could stand some new love; most of us can name at least one game we would love to see make a comeback. Some franchises already are; State of Decay 3 is rapidly coming, Dambuster is hard at work on Dead Island 3, and there are even stirrings that Dead Rising may return in an unexpected new format.
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 two Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 6.91% loss in its share price over the past year, the average MSFT price target of $559.98 per share implies 33.68% upside potential.
