Microsoft Stock Soars On Strong Earnings

After posting better-than-expected first quarter results, Microsoft stock value surged to an all-time high Friday. Microsoft stock soared as much as 12.6% intraday to 54.07 beating its dot-com era peak of 53.98 in December 1999. At the end of the day, shares closed up 10.1% at 52.87.

The stock value is on track for the 2nd biggest one-day price gain in its history, and biggest since Oct. 19, 2000. If the month-to-date price gains hold, it would be the 4th biggest ever monthly gain, and biggest since January 2001.

During the quarter, Microsoft announced a 16% increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.36 and returned $6.9 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends.