LemonTrades
TL;DR
- Microsoft split its stock nine times between 1987 and 2003: seven 2-for-1 splits and two 3-for-2 splits.
- One share from the March 1986 IPO is now 288 shares, so the $21 IPO price is about 7 cents in today’s terms.
- Its last split was in February 2003. No new split has been announced, even with the stock above $500.
- LemonTrades tells you what moved Microsoft, and why, as it happens, and warns you before its earnings.
In the 1990s, Microsoft split almost every other year as its stock soared. Then it stopped. Here’s the full record.
Microsoft stock split history
| Split-adjusted trading began | Ratio | Shares from one IPO share |
|---|---|---|
| September 21, 1987 | 2-for-1 | 2 |
| April 16, 1990 | 2-for-1 | 4 |
| June 27, 1991 | 3-for-2 | 6 |
| June 15, 1992 | 3-for-2 | 9 |
| May 23, 1994 | 2-for-1 | 18 |
| December 9, 1996 | 2-for-1 | 36 |
| February 23, 1998 | 2-for-1 | 72 |
| March 29, 1999 | 2-for-1 | 144 |
| February 18, 2003 | 2-for-1 | 288 |
Why Microsoft stopped splitting
After the dot-com crash, Microsoft’s stock went sideways for more than a decade, so there was no reason to split. When it finally took off in the 2010s, two things had changed: Microsoft started paying a regular dividend in 2003 and buying back shares instead, and brokers began selling fractional shares, so a high price no longer keeps small investors out. In January 2026 the stock had its worst day in years, a 10% drop on January 29, as its spending on AI data centers jumped.
Will Microsoft split again?
There’s no announcement, and Microsoft hasn’t said it’s considering one. With the stock above $500, a split is possible but far from certain: many big companies now leave their price high. Where analysts think the stock is headed: Microsoft stock forecast. How splits work, with another long record: Apple’s stock splits.
Sources
Education, not financial advice. Split-adjusted figures from daily price data. See our disclaimer.
