By Daniel Sparks
Publication Date: 2026-10-03 08:27:00
Microsoft (MSFT +0.92%) stock sat around $518 as of this writing, within about 5% of its record close of $542 set last October.
Microsoft’s board rarely let the share price go anywhere near that high before. The software giant split its stock nine times over its first 17 years as a public company, and one share bought at its March 1986 initial public offering is now 288 shares.
But the last split was a 2-for-1 split that took effect in February 2003. The shares have gone from around $25 just after that split to over $500 now.
And Microsoft hasn’t announced any plan to split them again. The call is up to the board.
After 23 years without one, could a 10th split be close?
Image source: Getty Images.
Microsoft used to split well below today’s price
Microsoft’s board used to split the shares nearly as soon as they got pricey. The first eight splits happened between 1987 and 1999, and every time the stock closed somewhere between around $98 and $178 right before the split took…
