14 DAY TRIAL // Having just completed a $40 billion stock repurchase, Microsoft is looking for nothing short of a repeat. On September 22, 2008, the Redmond giant's board of directors embarked on yet another share buyback program, also worth $40 billion. Not only this, but the company's shareholders will benefit from a boosted dividend come December 2008. Chris Liddell, chief financial officer of Microsoft, revealed that the new moves for the company are an indication of the board of directors' commitment to fueling continued growth despite the problems affecting the U.S. economy.
“These announcements illustrate our confidence in the long-term growth of the company and our commitment to returning capital to our shareholders,” Liddell said. The new $40 billion share repurchase program has an expiration date set for September 30, 2013.
On December 11, 2008, Microsoft will be ready to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share. The figure represents an 18%, or two cent boost compared to the dividend paid the previous quarter. According to statistics made public by the software company, no less than $115 billion have been returned to shareholders in the past five years, which included the previous $40 billion share buyback program.
Also today (September 22), Microsoft's board of directors gave the green light to $6 billion worth of debt financings. The company's $2 billion commercial paper program has received the top ratings from both Standard & Poor’s Rating Services and Moody’s Investors Service, namely A-1+ and respectively P-1. At the same time, the two organizations offered corporate credit ratings of AAA and Aaa to Microsoft.
“The company’s strong credit quality coupled with investors’ current appetite for high quality paper provides a unique opportunity for the company to establish its first-ever commercial paper program and enhance its capital structure,” added George Zinn, treasurer of Microsoft.