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Microsoft offers buyouts to 60,000 staff and borrows $25 billion in days; Here’s why

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Microsoft has secured $25 billion through its first U.S. bond sale since 2017 to fund rising infrastructure costs tied to Azure cloud services. The borrowing follows voluntary buyout packages extended to roughly 60,000 workers across four countries, including teams in Copilot, Xbox, and finance. The company expects 3,000 or fewer employees to accept the exit offers. Further details regarding cloud and AI strategies will be shared at the upcoming Ignite conference.

Key points

  • Capital expenditure is projected to reach an estimated $175 billion for 2026 due to surgi…: Capital expenditure is projected to reach an estimated $175 billion for 2026 due to surging Azure cloud demand.
  • Eligible buyout divisions include Xbox, Copilot, and human resources, while marketing, se…: Eligible buyout divisions include Xbox, Copilot, and human resources, while marketing, security, and commercial business remain entirely excluded.
  • Recent quarterly earnings demonstrated strong underlying operational health with a 19 per…: Recent quarterly earnings demonstrated strong underlying operational health with a 19 percent revenue jump and a 21 percent rise in operating income.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Microsoft has priced a $25 billion bond sale, its first US investment-grade offering since 2017, just three days after it offered voluntary exit packages to about 60,000 employees. The company says the money will go towards general corporate purposes, including capital expenditure, as its AI data centre bills keep climbing.

The sequence is hard to miss. On the earnings call on Wednesday, CFO Amy Hood said, “We’re fortunate to have access in the debt markets, given where our ratings are, and we haven’t yet tapped that.” The notes were priced a day later in ten tranches maturing between 2028 and 2066, and they are set to close on November 4.

Microsoft’s $25 billion bond sale drew $115 billion in orders

Orders peaked at $115 billion, about 4.6 times the amount on offer, according to people familiar with the deal. Fixed-rate coupons run from 4.85 percent on $2 billion of notes due 2028 to 6.35 percent on $2 billion of notes due 2066. Two tranches are floating-rate notes worth $1 billion each.

Investors had a clear reason to line up. Microsoft…

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