Privately-owned investment bank Stephens Inc. has increased its stake in tech giant Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT) by 3.4% in Q3 2025, according to the Arkansas-based firm’s most recent 13-F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In the three months running from July 1 to September 30, 2025, the bank bought 11,532 MSFT shares, bringing its total holdings to 351,666 shares. Microsoft now accounts for 2.3% of Stephens Inc’s portfolio, making the software behemoth its third-largest holding, valued at $182.3 million.
Stephens Inc. Boosts Microsoft Stake by 3.4% in Q3 2025
Meanwhile, Microsoft reported strong financial results for Q3 2025, driven by robust growth in cloud computing and AI services. The company generated $70.1 billion in revenue, a 13% year-over-year increase, beating Wall Street’s expectations. The company’s earnings-per-share (EPS) is at $3.46, up 18% YoY, reflecting strong operational performance.
Revenue in the cloud business reached $26.8 billion, up 21% YoY, fueled by a 33% growth for Azure and other cloud products. Productivity and business process revenue grew to $29.9 billion, up 10% from the previous year, supported by Microsoft 365 Commercial and Dynamics 365 products. Meanwhile, revenue from personal computing is up 6% for the year to $13.4 billion.
Commercial booking growth was 18%, driven primarily by strong demand for Azure following a major commitment by OpenAI. The company’s operating income rose 16% to $32 billion, with an operating margin of 45.7% – a 100-basis-point increase. Cash flow from operations was $37 billion, up 16%, while free cash flow reached $20.3 billion.
Microsoft returned $9.7 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, up 15% year-over-year.
The company reported total assets of $562.6 billion, up from $512.2 billion in 2024, with cash and cash equivalents accounting for $28.8 billion of the total. Meanwhile, capital expenditures stood at $21.4 billion, reflecting continued investments in cloud and AI infrastructure.
Vanguard, State Street, Norges Bank Boost Microsoft Stakes
Stephans Inc. wasn’t the only institutional investor and hedge fund to have added or reduced its stake in MSFT – a cohort that owns 71.13% of the company’s common stock. Asset management giant Vanguard Group increased its Microsoft holdings by 2% in Q2 2025, owning 705.07 million MSFT shares valued at $350.71 million.
State Street Corp., the second-oldest continuously operating bank in the U.S., now owns 299.19 million MSFT shares, worth $148.82 million, after acquiring an additional 3.16 million shares in the last quarter.
Asset manager Geode Capital Management LLC added 3.53 million Microsoft shares, bringing its total to 179 million, valued at $88.71 million. Norges Bank bought $50.49 million worth of shares in the company, while Northern Trust Corp. raised its position by 16.1% during Q4 2025, owning 83.78 million MSFT worth $35.31 million.
At the time of writing, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) is trading at $414.19 – up 0.14% for the day.
