To be clear, I think Microsoft will continue growing and I consider it a value stock. I am simply getting sick of seeing 10 Microsoft posts a day, with most of them containing misinformation.
I'll explain the bear case by going down each of their 3 key businesses:
1. Azure. The growth is great, but with the caveat that it's likely largely tied to OpenAI Capex. Another risk is that because Microsoft themselves also need compute, they've sacrificed Azure growth for themselves. Not only does that hurt MSFT in the short term, but it also annoys clients. AWS does not have this problem. Google Cloud does, but is also cheaper.
**TLDR: 8/10 business, but their** growth is very dependent on the success of OpenAI.
2. Microsoft 365 / Office. This business is great because companies pay per user, per month. The stability is what enterprise specifically loves about it. It's why Teams beat Slack despite being the inferior product. The problem is that AI threatens to upend this model.
If everyone is using different amounts of compute, you may need to introduce a usage-based pricing model. The issue with that is if an enterprise is paying for marginal usage, then Anthropic and OpenAI (or others) can directly out-compete Microsoft in this area.
**TLDR: 6/10 business. A cash cow today, but AI can disrupt this business model.**
3. Windows. This one is just bad. Memory is crushing lower-end PCs, Windows has a quality problem to compete in higher price segments against the Mac. Also, tablets and phones are replacing computer needs, and Microsoft is even less relevant there too.
**TLDR 1/10 business. No longer a growth engine.**
People on this subreddit compare Microsoft today to where Google was last year. But I should note there's considerable differences: Search was threatened by AI, it was a legitimate threat to their cash cow margins. They escaped it by creating a top notch model (Gemini) to fuel search results, and via their TPU investments. Microsoft does not have a custom AI model. They do not have custom chips to make Azure cheaper than GC or AWS. They do not have a large ad based consumer software product where AI can directly improve margins.
Look at Amazon's past 5 year growth outlook. There's no law saying Microsoft won't have the same fate - slow and steady growth, comparable to an index fund.