By Keith Speights, The Motley Fool
Publication Date: 2026-04-01 09:04:00
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) entered 2026 riding high. The tech giant had delivered solid double-digit gains for three consecutive years, including a spectacular 57% return in 2023. Then, metaphorically speaking, the wheels fell off.
The world’s third-largest technology company by market cap finished the first quarter of 2026 with its share price down 24%. This marked the steepest quarterly decline for Microsoft since late 2008 during the Great Recession.
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Some investors might recall that the 2008 sell-off set the stage for a jaw-dropping run, during which the stock eventually skyrocketed more than 27x. Could history repeat itself? Is Microsoft’s steep Q1 pullback a generational “buy” signal?
Before we attempt to…