Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ-MSFT) has emerged as the winner in the OpenAI coup, hiring top executives fired by OpenAI management. However, a week later, thanks to 500 employees protesting and threatening to quit, OpenAI management changed its mind and brought the top executives back. Microsoft Corporation has long been competing with rival Google, which is owned by parent company Alphabet (GOOGL.O), for control of the nascent industry. As a result, shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ-MSFT) rose 2% to a record high.
Microsoft Corporation has also launched a major investment in the State of Georgia, in Floyd County, on Huffaker Road in Rome. This investment will exceed $1 billion and will include the construction of a data center to support the Azure platform. “This is a tremendous economic opportunity for our community that will have positive impacts for decades to come,” said Jimmy Byars, Chairman of the Rome Floyd County Development Authority. The site itself is 347 acres in size. The company will also create 150 senior management jobs at the Georgia data center with this investment. This project is expected to take about three years to complete.
The company also pays regular quarterly dividends to its shareholders. Currently, the dividend yield is 0.79% p.a. The actual dividend amount was approved by the AGM at $0.75 per share. According to analysts at brokerage firms and financial strategists at investment banks, the share price can be expected to rise in the short to medium term investment horizon. The average target price for the short to medium term investment horizon was set at USD 410.03 per share.