How To Buy Microsoft (MSFT) Stock In 2023 – Comprehensive Guide

Last Updated April 6th 2023

15 Min Read

In this comprehensive stock investing guide, we will teach you how to buy Microsoft stock through a regulated stockbroker. We will provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to buy MSFT shares before breaking that process down and covering each step, in detail.

By the end of this guide, you will know where to buy Microsoft shares and what to look for when searching for the best share broker. You will also know how the MSFT stock has performed in the past and the factors expected to influence its price action in 2023 and beyond. More importantly, you will have decided whether MSFT shares are worth buying today.

How To Buy Microsoft (MSFT) Stock – Overview

Here is the standard Microsoft share-buying process embraced by the majority of regulated online stock trading platforms.

Step 1: Create a share trader account – Identifying a regulated and highly reputable online broker. Register a trader account with this broker by furnishing them with your basic personal information.
Step 2: Verify your identity – Regulated brokers are required – by law – to pass their potential clients through KYC and AML checks. Your broker will, therefore, ask about your source of income and require you to send them a valid copy of a government-issued identification document.
Step 3: Deposit funds – Once the account is approved, log in and make a deposit. Note that different brokers maintain varied minimum deposit limits and also support different payment methods. Take this into account when searching for the best stock broker.
Step 4: Buy Microsoft stock – Search for the MSFT stock and tap the "BUY" icon to start investing.

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

Below, we go over each of these steps in detail. We will introduce you to what our analysts consider the best Microsoft shares broker and discuss everything you need to know about the Bill Gates-associated company and its share price.

The Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Buying Guide - Reviewed

Step 1: Decide Where To Buy Microsoft (MSFT) Stock

The first step to actualizing the decision to buy Microsoft shares is creating a trader account with a stock investing platform. But you probably already know that due to its massive popularity, MSFT is currently listed with countless online trading platforms.

How, then, do you find the best Microsoft share broker that appeals to you? By vetting them and ensuring they have the following features:

Regulated and reputable: Only create a share investor account with a regulated broker. The preferred broker should also be of solid repute and able to guarantee the reliability, stellar customer service, and security of client funds and data.
Affordable fees: Understand that the trading and non-trading fees imposed by a broker have a direct impact on the profitability of your MSFT investment. Therefore, confirm all the charges and fees levied by a broker, assess the impact on your trades, and only go for the most affordable broker.
User-friendliness: Your ideal share broker should also run a user-friendly trading environment. This starts with a straightforward client onboarding process and extends to an easily navigable and ultra-fast trading interface.
Integrate tools and resources: The ideal share broker must also integrate sufficient research material, trading tools, and risk management tools into the trading platform. These may include a demo account, customizable charts, hard stop, economic news, and calendars, as well as negative balance protection.
Affordable account minimums: Confirm whether the broker supports fractional trading. Check their minimum initial deposit and minimum trading limit. Also, check the number of supported payment methods and confirm whether the broker charges any deposit/withdrawal processing fees.

To help you get started with Microsoft stock investing, our analysts have vetted multiple share trading platforms so that you don't have to. Ultimately, they settled on these two as the best Microsoft share brokers.

eToro – Best Microsoft Stock Broker for User-Friendliness and Copy Trading

eToro is a multi-asset and multi-regulated trading platform that has been around since 2007. Over the years, it morphed into one of the largest and most popular stock trading platforms – with 25+ million users globally. Much of this popularity can be attributed to its innovativeness, affordability, security, and reliability.

But we consider it one of the best Microsoft share brokers primarily because of its user-friendliness and support for copy trading.

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For starters, eToro maintains a quick and straightforward client onboarding process – approving trader accounts in minutes. It also has one of the most navigable and beginner-friendly trading interfaces. Not forgetting that it even provides users with a free demo account and a wide range of comprehensive user guides. And in addition to being navigable, this trading interface also integrates a host of premium charting, analysis, and risk management tools that draw in expert traders.

To start buying Microsoft stock on eToro, you only need to create an account and deposit at least $10. The broker supports multiple popular payment options, including bank cards and PayPal and doesn't charge deposit fees. And since eToro is a commission-free broker, you will only pay a variable and competitive spread when you buy MSFT shares.

You can also use the broker's integrated copy trading tool to earn passively. You can choose to copy the trade settings of highly successful investors and mirror them in your trader account. But you can only start copy trading if you have a balance of at least $200.

If you are a PRO investor, allow the platform users to copy your trades. For this, eToro will reward you with a commission – based on the value of assets under copy.

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

Capital.com – Best for Active Trading

Capital.com is an equally popular online trading platform. But unlike eToro, which lets you buy actual shares and trade share CFDs, Capital.com is a pure-CFD trading platform. It is a multi-asset brokerage implying that in addition to Microsoft shares, you also get to trade thousands of other shares, commodities, forex, indices, ETFs, and even crypto.

To start buying Microsoft shares on Capital.com, you need to create an account and deposit a minimum of $20 (or $250 if you are making a bank deposit). And since Capital.com is a commission-free broker, you will only have to part with a variable and highly competitive spread.

But we believe it to be the best Microsoft share broker because of its appeal to active share traders. And several features ensure it is uniquely positioned to cater to high-volume and regular MSFT CFD share traders.

For starters, Capital.com supports margin trading with a maximum leverage of 1:5 for retail stock traders. This means that for every $1 you put into the platform, the broker will advance you $5, which lets you enter into a relatively large position with a small investment capital. For a winning trade, such high leverage increases your take home exponentially.

Secondly, Capital.com maintains some of the fastest order execution speeds. You, therefore, don't have to worry about slippage and requotes or delays in executing a stop order for your MSFT share CFD trades when using the broker platform. And this, too, has a significant impact on the profitability of your trades.

Additionally, Capital.com maintains one of the most innovative trading platforms. It is navigable and easy to use for novice traders – and even presents them with a free demo account and comprehensive educational resources.

It also integrates over 70 advanced trading and technical analysis tool, as well as hard stop and negative balance protection. But even more importantly, Capital.com's trading platform is AI-powered. This tool comes in handy because of its post-trade behavior analysis. It helps traders spot and eliminate bias from their trades.

Step 2: Research Microsoft (MSFT) Stock

After identifying where to buy Microsoft shares, it now is time to gather as much actionable information as possible about the company and its stock as possible. In this section, we will learn about the company and go over MSFT stock's historical price performance. These should be enough to help you identify the factors that have influenced Microsoft's stock price in the past and their possible impact on its share price in 2023 and beyond.

What is Microsoft?

Microsoft Corporation is an American-based multinational technology company and the largest software maker by revenue. It was founded in April 1981 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The corporation has since moved its campus and headquarters to Redmond, Washington, United States. At the time of writing, the software giant is the 3rd most valuable company in the world by market cap – behind Apple and Saudi Aramco – with a valuation of $1.77 Trillion.

Microsoft specializes in software development, production, and distribution. It is best known for its Windows operating system (currently powering 76%+ of the world's personal computers), Microsoft Office suite (a host of client/server software like word, excel, access, and Publisher), as well as Internet Explorer and Edge browsers. But Microsoft is also involved in the manufacture of hardware tech products, especially consumer electronics and personal computers.

buy Microsoft stock

In the last few years, Microsoft has embarked on an aggressive expansion plan designed to help it expand its revenue base and secure its future. This saw it launch multiple non-software lines of business and acquire more. Some of its most notable acquisitions include Danger Inc. and Nokia in 2008 and 2012, respectively. The company also acquired Skype Technologies in 2011 and LinkedIn – for $26.2 Billion – at the end of 2016.

Over the past few years, Microsoft has been reorganizing and positioning itself as a leader in cloud computing via the Azure platform. And though it trails behind Amazon and its Amazon Web Services (AWS), it leads the likes of Google, Alibaba, and IBM. By the third quarter of 2022, Microsoft controlled more than 21% of the worldwide market share in the provision of cloud infrastructure and services.

Microsoft Historical Price Performance

Microsoft Corporation went public in March 1986 when the company was listed with NASDAQ. At the time, 2.5 million MSFT shares were sold to the public at an IPO price of $21, which helped the company raise $61 Million. Within the first day of active trading, Microsoft's share price shot up by more than 70% to close the day selling for $35.50.

Between 1987 and 2003, MSFT was subjected to nine stock splits; seven 2-for-1 splits and two 3-for-2 splits. In total, each original Microsoft stock has now been divided into 288 equal shares.

This gives Microsoft shares an adjusted IPO price of $0.10. It also means that at its peak price of $344 hit on 19th November 2021, MSFT stock was trading more than 344000% above its IPO price – making it one of the most lucrative stock investments of all time.

Since listing, Microsoft's stock has sustained an overall uptrending price action. It first broke above $10 in January 1997 – at the base of the dot-com bull run and peaked above $59 by December 1999. Further gains were, however, prevented by the market crash that saw MSFT stock price dip to $21 by December 2000.

For the next decade, MSFT's share price plateaued and ranged between $20 and $30. It attempted a price run during the housing market bubble in 2007 but only reached $36 before dumping more than 55% of this value when the market crashed in early 2009.

They only started rallying again in 2014. This was occasioned by intense business reorganization and change in leadership. Moving forward, Microsoft would only concentrate on four strategic business divisions, namely cloud, apps, devices, and operating systems. Steve Ballmer and Billy gates also vacated the CEO and Board chairman positions in favor of Satya Nadella and John W. Thompson, respectively.

In November 2015, Microsoft stock broke above $50 for the first time ever. In the six years that followed, MSFT stock went on a parabolic run appreciating by 688% to hit the current all-time high of $344 in November 2021.

By December 2022, though, Microsoft had shed more than 40% of this peak value. But there still is a lot of optimism about Microsoft's future. Virtually every analyst and share price forecaster is positive that MSFT share price will eventually rebound. They just can't agree on when it will recover this loss and resume the 2014-2021 rally.

Note that, unlike most other technology giants, Microsoft pays dividends. In 2022, for example, Microsoft declared a dividend yield of 1.11% and paid an annual dividend of $2.72 per share – distributed quarterly.

Factors Affecting Microsoft Share Prices

Look at any chart plotting MSFT's price action. You will notice that even though it has an overall uptrending price direction, this plot is characterized by gentle ridges and short plateaus. The ridges represent periods of volatile price action, while the plateaus imply stagnation.

buy microsoft stock

In this section, we discuss factors that caused this volatility/plateau that we expect will recur in 2023 and beyond. These are the factors expected to influence MSFT stock's future price action:

Company financials: Microsoft is both a growth and dividend stock. Therefore, its price action will be continually influenced by the company's revenues and dividend yield. You may, for instance, expect MSFT share price to rally if investors expect the software giant to increase dividend amounts.
Real and perceived growth: Microsoft is still growing and has ventured into multiple lines of business. Its stock price will, therefore, rally if there is growth in any of these niches – both real and perceived. But the opposite of this is also true.
Industry trends: MSFT's share price will also be greatly influenced by the prevailing stock market and industry trends. One of the reasons why it lost more than 40% in 2022 was due to the bear market and plummeting tech industry stocks.
Competitor activity: Microsoft faces stiff competition in all the business divisions it has chosen to focus on. Therefore, look out for any advancements made by a competitor that help them eat into Microsoft's market share, as they will have a negative impact on MSFT's share price.
Macroeconomics: The state of the economy – locally and internationally – will also have a direct impact on MSFT stock prices. The share price will rally when the economy is doing well and crash if there is a recession threat.

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

Step 3: Open A Share Investor Account And Buy Microsoft (MSFT) Stock

Do you want to start buying Microsoft shares right away? This step-by-step guide will teach you how to acquire your first MSFT stock on the all-popular eToro online trading platform.

1. Open a stock broker account

On your browser, open the official eToro website or download the eToro mobile trader app from the app/google play store. Hit the "Join Now" icon and complete the registration form that pops up.

The broker will only ask for such details as your name and address, phone number and country of residence, your income source and trading experience. You will also need to set your account name and create a strong password.

open trading account

2. Verify your identity

Given that eToro is a multi-regulated broker, you will be required to verify your identity. Simply submit a copy of your driver's license, national ID, or passport. Wait for an email from the broker notifying you the account has been approved.

etoro account verification

3. Deposit funds

Log in and, on the user dashboard, click on the "Deposit Funds" icon. A funding tab will pop up indicating all the payment options available to you – based on your country of residence. Choose one and follow the prompts to fund the account with at least $10.

fund account

5. Buy Microsoft stock

Click on the "Discover" button and choose to trade "Stocks." Use the search button to find "Microsoft" stock and tap the "Buy" option against the stock.

Use the trading tab that pops up to customize the trade and indicate the number of MSFT shares you wish to buy or the investment amount. Press the "Open Trade" button to authorize the investment.

buy microsoft stock

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

Microsoft Stock Strengths And Weaknesses

But is Microsoft worth investing in in 2023? Are MSFT shares worth buying today? These are critical questions that you need to ask yourself before hitting the buy button on the exchange. And you answer this by comparing the most compelling reasons to buy MSFT shares now with convincing reasons why MSFT is not a good buy.

To help you decide if MSFT shares are buying, we have come up with a few reasons to invest in the software giant and a few more on why it might not be the best buy in 2023.

Reasons to Buy Microsoft Stock in 2023

Proven resilience: You may want to invest in Microsoft because both the company and its stock price have proved their resilience. Their quick recovery after a crash and overall uptrending price direction say that MSFT stock will survive even the most devastating market crash.
Future growth: Microsoft has only started growing. It has focused on specific business divisions that it seeks to conquer and has been competing fairly. It, for instance, boasts a 76% worldwide market share in desktop operating systems and 21% in cloud computing.
Undervalued stock price: Given the level of growth being recorded by Microsoft Corporation and its projected future developments, MSFT stock is relatively undervalued. By buying this dip, you set yourself up for massive gains when it eventually recovers and starts rallying again.
Dividend stock: You will also want to buy Microsoft shares if you are looking for a regular source of passive income. Microsoft pays dividends quarterly, and the yields have also been on an uptrend.

Reasons Not to Buy Microsoft Stock

The threat of recession: The threat of recession in 2023 implies that you should expect Microsoft share prices to continue falling. This means that today may not be the best time to buy Amazon stock – especially for short-term traders.

For more guides on how to buy shares check out our other stock buying guides:

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

Conclusion - How To Buy Microsoft Stock

Microsoft is one of the oldest and largest software companies in the world. The 344000%+ appreciation of the MSFT stock also makes it one of the most lucrative share investments of the last four decades.

With the recent company reorganization and leadership change, the tech giant has found its footing and is about to blow up. This promise of fast-paced growth over the next few years and potential higher dividend yields make MSFT one of the best growth and dividend stocks to buy and hold right now.

eToro – Buy Microsoft Stock With 0% Commission

Open an account with eToro, deposit some funds with USD, and finally – buy Shares from just $10.

eToro stocks trading

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

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FAQs About How To Buy Microsoft (MSFT) Stock

How can I buy Microsoft stock today?

Start by registering a trader account with a regulated share broker. Deposit funds into this account and place a buy order for MSFT shares using the steps we have detailed in the above Microsoft investing guide.

Does Microsoft pay dividends?

Yes, Microsoft pays quarterly dividends to shareholders. In 2022, the annual dividend was $2.72 per share.

Why did Microsoft's share price fall in 2022?

The significant value loss for Microsoft shares could be attributed to a multitude of factors, but three stand out. First, it lost because tech industry stocks were on a sustained downtrend throughout the year. They also lose value because the bears have taken over the stock market. They also failed because the US economy is failing, and there is an imminent threat of a looming recession.

Will Microsoft's share price recover in 2023?

The threat of a looming recession makes it impossible to predict with a relative level of certainty whether Microsoft and other tech stocks will rebound in 2023. However, there is nothing to suggest that we can avoid the looming recession, which further thins the chances of MSFT recovering in 2023.

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