Microsoft’s quarterly dividend rose to $0.91 per share on August 20, 2026, from $0.83 a year earlier, but the increase came as the company sharply expanded spending on cloud and AI infrastructure. At a share price of $481.15, the annualized dividend yield remains below 1%. For the fiscal year ended June 30, Microsoft’s capital expenditures reached $115.948 billion, up 79.62%, while net income increased 31.34% to $133.749 billion. Free cash flow fell 6.46% to $66.987 billion. The company paid $26.445 billion in dividends and repurchased $22.271 billion of stock, compared with $64.551 billion of capital expenditures and $24.082 billion of dividends in fiscal 2025. In fiscal fourth quarter, capital expenditures climbed 109.63% to $35.802 billion and quarterly free cash flow declined 23.19% to $19.639 billion. Microsoft’s operating results provide support for the investment: Azure annual revenue surpassed $100 billion, rising 41%, Microsoft 365 Copilot exceeded 30 million paid seats, and commercial remaining performance obligations rose 84% to $678 billion. Shares were down 3.91% over the past year from $500.75, despite a 21.2% rebound over the past month from a July low of $397. Year to date, the stock was nearly unchanged, up 0.12%. A forward price-to-earnings ratio of 24 and an analyst target of $569.56 indicate continued Wall Street confidence, with 40 buy ratings, 14 strong-buy ratings and three holds. Microsoft’s capital spending also exceeded Alphabet’s $91.447 billion in calendar 2025, while its dividend payments were more than double Alphabet’s $10.049 billion. CFO Amy Hood said the calendar 2026 outlook, adjusted for a lease-accounting shift, is approximately $175 billion, and said fiscal 2027 capital expenditures are expected to grow year over year while Microsoft remains free-cash-flow positive. The company has historically announced its annual dividend increase in September; its September 15, 2025 declaration lifted the quarterly rate to $0.91. The next announcement is expected to offer a key indication of whether the AI buildout is constraining shareholder payouts or whether Microsoft can continue funding both.