Microsoft
MSFTMicrosoft has retired 31.7% of its shares since 2004, from 10,872,704,667 to 7,425,545,491.
31.7%retired since 2004
1.1%last 5 years
0.1%last 12 months
7.4Bshares today
Microsoft has retired 31.7% of its shares since 2004, from 10,872,704,667 to 7,425,545,491.
| Fiscal year | Date | Shares outstanding | Filing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1999-09-10 | 10,283,016,248 | 10-K | cover page |
| 2000 | 2000-09-08 | 10,710,753,632 | 10-K | cover page |
| 2001 | 2001-09-10 | 10,803,889,902 | 10-K | cover page |
| 2002 | 2002-07-31 | 10,757,493,706 | 10-K | cover page |
| 2003 | 2003-08-15 | 10,813,984,831 | 10-K | cover page |
| 2004 | 2004-08-15 | 10,872,704,667 | 10-K | cover page |
| 2005 | 2005-08-15 | 10,712,706,028 | 10-K | cover page |
| 2006 | 2006-08-18 | 9,969,991,800 | 10-K | cover page |
| 2007 | 2007-06-30 | 9,380,000,000 | 10-K | |
| 2008 | 2008-06-30 | 9,151,000,000 | 10-K | |
| 2009 | 2009-06-30 | 8,908,000,000 | 10-K | |
| 2010 | 2010-07-20 | 8,653,567,331 | 10-K | |
| 2011 | 2011-07-20 | 8,378,265,782 | 10-K | |
| 2012 | 2012-07-18 | 8,383,396,575 | 10-K | |
| 2013 | 2013-07-18 | 8,329,956,402 | 10-K | |
| 2014 | 2014-07-22 | 8,239,848,789 | 10-K | |
| 2015 | 2015-07-27 | 7,997,980,969 | 10-K | |
| 2016 | 2016-07-25 | 7,792,515,573 | 10-K | |
| 2017 | 2017-07-31 | 7,702,243,979 | 10-K | |
| 2018 | 2018-07-31 | 7,668,217,316 | 10-K | |
| 2019 | 2019-07-29 | 7,635,409,400 | 10-K | |
| 2020 | 2020-07-27 | 7,567,652,935 | 10-K | |
| 2021 | 2021-07-26 | 7,514,891,248 | 10-K | |
| 2022 | 2022-07-25 | 7,457,891,872 | 10-K | |
| 2023 | 2023-07-24 | 7,429,763,722 | 10-K | |
| 2024 | 2024-07-25 | 7,433,038,381 | 10-K | |
| 2025 | 2025-07-24 | 7,433,166,379 | 10-K | |
| 2026 | 2026-07-23 | 7,425,545,491 | 10-K | cover page |
Source: all 10-K filings of Microsoft on EDGAR. Download this series as CSV. Licence CC BY 4.0, credit Buyback Radar.
Cash spent comes from the cash flow statement. Shares outstanding fell by less than the company bought, because part of every buyback only replaces shares handed to employees. Today’s price is $529.05.
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Only enough to stand still. The share count is roughly flat over the last twelve months, at 7,425,545,491 as of July 23, 2026. Over five years the share count is down 1.1%.
Net of every new share it issued, Microsoft has 3.45 billion fewer shares than at its 2004 peak. That is 31.7% of the company. Since fiscal 2008 alone it bought back about 3.52 billion shares, while the count fell by 1.73 billion. The difference went to employees and other new shares.
7,425,545,491 shares, as of July 23, 2026, from the cover page of its latest 10-K. At the 2004 peak it had 10,872,704,667.
Each share is a bigger slice of the company. Someone who held Microsoft stock in 2004 owns 1.5 times as much of the business today without buying another share. Whether that was a good use of cash depends on the price paid.
Microsoft ranks No. 162 of 251 companies on Buyback Radar by share of the company retired since its peak. Close to it on the list: C. H. Robinson Worldwide (32.6%), Olin (31.8%), Alpha Metallurgical (31.6%), Willis Towers Watson (31.5%).
Every answer is computed from Microsoft's own SEC filings and rebuilt every Monday. Latest count: 10-K on EDGAR.
From the latest 13F filings. All superinvestors.
The numbers say what happened. The story says whether it can continue. We cover companies like Microsoft in depth on Cannibal Stocks.
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