Definitions
Microsoft Corporation is a multinational computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices. Its most profitable products are the Microsoft Windows operating system and the Microsoft Office suite of productivity software.
The company was founded to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. Microsoft rose to dominate the home computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by the Windows line of operating systems. Its products have all achieved near-ubiquity in the desktop computer market.
When the company debuted its IPO in March 13, 1986, the stock price was US $21. By the end of the first trading day, the stock had closed at $28.The stock price peaked in 1999 at around US $119.
In the last few years, the price of Microsoft’s stock largely remained steady, with a rise in stock price around the release of Windows Vista and a fall during the economic crisis of 2008.