Company Description
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is a technology company in the information sector that develops and licenses software and builds platforms and tools powered by artificial intelligence. According to company disclosures, Microsoft focuses on creating technology that meets the evolving needs of its customers, with a stated mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Its shares of common stock and certain notes trade on NASDAQ under the symbol MSFT.
Microsoft is classified in the software publishers industry and develops and licenses consumer and enterprise software. As described in third-party and company materials, the business is organized into three broad segments. The Productivity and Business Processes segment includes legacy Microsoft Office, cloud-based Office 365, Exchange, SharePoint, Skype, LinkedIn, and Dynamics. The Intelligent Cloud segment covers infrastructure- and platform-as-a-service offerings such as Azure, Windows Server operating system, and SQL Server. The More Personal Computing segment includes Windows client, Xbox, Bing search, display advertising, and Surface-branded laptops, tablets, and desktops.
In its public communications and SEC filings, Microsoft emphasizes that it creates platforms and tools powered by AI. The company highlights AI across products such as Microsoft 365, Azure-based services, and specialized offerings built with Azure OpenAI and other Azure AI capabilities. Examples from recent announcements include agentic AI solutions for retail operations, Copilot-branded experiences, and templates in Copilot Studio for shopping, catalog enrichment, and store operations. These offerings are presented as ways to bring intelligent automation into business workflows, augment human expertise, and support context-aware decision-making.
Microsoft’s technology underpins collaborations across multiple industries. In retail, the company has announced agentic AI solutions designed for merchandising, marketing, store operations, and fulfillment, as well as Copilot Checkout experiences that allow purchases to be completed within conversational interfaces. In apparel and consumer goods, partners such as Levi Strauss & Co. use Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, Azure AI Foundry, and related services to support digital transformation, orchestrate AI agents, and move workloads to Azure. In design and creative workflows, Pantone has built the Pantone Palette Generator on Microsoft Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Foundry, Azure AI Search, and Azure Cosmos DB to deliver an AI-driven color exploration experience within Pantone Connect.
Microsoft’s cloud and AI businesses are a central focus in its financial reporting. In an earnings release furnished to the SEC for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, the company reported results for segments that include Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing, and highlighted metrics such as Microsoft Cloud revenue and Azure and other cloud services revenue growth. The company also described its cloud as a "planet-scale" platform and referred to its AI-related investments, including those associated with OpenAI, in both GAAP and non-GAAP reconciliations.
Corporate governance and shareholder engagement are documented in Microsoft’s proxy statements and current reports. The definitive proxy statement for the 2025 Annual Shareholders Meeting describes a Board of Directors composed primarily of independent directors, outlines committee structures, and discusses oversight of areas such as strategy, risk, and responsible AI. The proxy materials and related 8-K filings detail management proposals, including the approval of the Microsoft Corporation 2026 Stock Plan, and several shareholder proposals related to AI, data usage oversight, human rights due diligence, and other topics, along with the voting outcomes.
At the 2025 Annual Shareholders Meeting, as reported in an 8-K filing, shareholders elected 12 directors, approved on an advisory basis the compensation of named executive officers, ratified the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2026, and approved the 2026 Stock Plan. Several shareholder proposals concerning censorship risk audits, AI data usage oversight, data operations in human rights hotspots, human rights due diligence, and AI tools for oil and gas development and production did not receive sufficient votes for approval.
Microsoft’s bylaws and governance practices continue to evolve. An 8-K filed on July 1, 2025, describes amendments to the company’s bylaws that implement a cure process for certain deficiencies in director nomination notices submitted by shareholders, providing notice and an opportunity to address such deficiencies when nominations are received within the specified time period.
Through its disclosures, Microsoft repeatedly states that it aims to make AI available broadly and to do so responsibly. The company points investors and stakeholders to progress reports and transparency materials on topics such as cybersecurity, environmental sustainability, and responsible AI, as referenced in its proxy statement. In addition, Microsoft communicates that it operates in a highly competitive global environment and identifies a range of risks in its filings, including competition, regulatory developments, cybersecurity, data protection, intellectual property, and the implications of AI use.
Microsoft’s ecosystem also extends to gaming and interactive entertainment. King, the company behind the Candy Crush franchise and Candy Crush Solitaire, is described in partner press materials as part of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). These materials highlight how King’s mobile games and seasonal campaigns connect to broader entertainment and brand partnerships, and they illustrate how Microsoft’s portfolio includes consumer-facing digital entertainment alongside enterprise and cloud offerings.
Overall, Microsoft presents itself, through its own statements and regulatory filings, as a large technology company in the information sector that develops and licenses software, operates major cloud and AI platforms, and maintains a diversified set of businesses across productivity software, cloud infrastructure, personal computing, and interactive entertainment, with governance and risk oversight documented in its SEC filings.