Microsoft 1986 IPO Price and Initial Trading
Microsoft went public on March 13, 1986, at an offering price of $21 per share on the NASDAQ exchange. The IPO raised approximately $61 million for the company and its early investors, marking a defining moment in the history of personal computing software. Detailed filing data is available on the SEC EDGAR system SEC EDGAR.
In the first regular trading session after the IPO, Microsoft shares opened at $25.75 and closed at $27.75, representing an immediate gain of roughly 32 percent from the offering price. The strong debut reflected high demand for personal computer software at a time when IBM-compatible PCs were rapidly expanding across businesses and homes.
Adjusted Historical Performance and Long-Term Returns
When adjusted for stock splits and dividends, Microsoft's 1986 IPO price translates to a much lower basis for long-term return calculations. The company executed a 2-for-1 stock split in 1987, a 3-for-2 split in 1990, a 2-for-1 split in 1991, a 3-for-2 split in 1992, a 2-for-1 split in 1994, a 2-for-1 split in 1996, a 2-for-1 split in 1998, a 2-for-1 split in 1999, and a 3-for-2 split in 2003. These splits mean the original $21 share price equates to a significantly lower per-share cost basis when tracking cumulative returns.
An investment of $10,000 in Microsoft at the 1986 IPO price would have grown into a multi-million dollar position by the early 2020s, driven by the success of Windows, Office, Azure cloud services, and enterprise software. Long-term total return data, including price appreciation and reinvested dividends, can be verified through financial data providers Macrotrends.
Microsoft Stock Price 1986 Compared With Modern Valuation
In 1986, Microsoft was a mid-cap software company with annual revenue of roughly $140 million and a market capitalization of approximately $600 million at the time of its IPO. By comparison, the company's market capitalization exceeded $2 trillion in 2024, making it one of the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world Forbes.
Today, Microsoft trades on NASDAQ under the ticker MSFT and is a component of major indices such as the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Investors researching the 1986 baseline can compare historical price charts with current quotes on financial platforms Yahoo Finance.