Microsoft Stock Has Grown Roughly 14-Fold Since Satya Nadella Became CEO in 2014, a 23% Annual Growth Rate That Ended 14 Years of Negative Growth. Can That Pace Continue Under Heavy AI Spending?

Key Points Nadella turned around Microsoft by focusing on enterprise cloud solutions in both software and compute. Microsoft Azure, its cloud computing platform, has become a major growth driver in recent years. Is AI a threat or an opportunity for Microsoft? 10 stocks we like better than Microsoft › Bill Gates handed over the reins of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to Steve Ballmer in early 2000. Gates had built the software business into the world's largest company by market cap, perhaps with a little help from dot-com stock enthusiasm. To be sure, Ballmer took over the company in a precarious position. Not only were tech stock valuations extremely frothy, but Microsoft was also fighting its antitrust lawsuit.