does microsoft still own apple stock? History & answer

Microsoft ownership of Apple stock

does microsoft still own apple stock — this question points to a notable moment in tech history: Microsoft’s $150 million investment in Apple in 1997, the subsequent conversion to common shares, and the eventual sale of that position in the early 2000s. Readers will get a concise answer up front, a timeline of events, the financial mechanics (preferred vs. common shares and conversion), the motivations on both sides, the sale timeline and proceeds, a hypothetical modern valuation, and the historical and regulatory context. This article is factual, neutral, and intended for readers who want a clear, sourced explanation.

Overview

The short, direct answer to "does microsoft still own apple stock" is: no. Microsoft purchased $150 million of non‑voting preferred Apple stock as part of a 1997 agreement; those shares were later converted into common shares and Microsoft disposed of the entire position by roughly mid‑2003. Contemporary press accounts report Microsoft realized roughly $550 million when it sold the stake; conversion figures commonly cited are approximately 18.1 million common shares, though those numbers come from press reports and retrospective accounts.

Background — Apple in the mid-1990s

In the mid‑1990s Apple faced severe financial and strategic stress. Sales and market share had eroded relative to the PC ecosystem, product strategy had become fragmented, and the company reported losses that raised real concerns about its viability. Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 (initially as an advisor and then CEO), and the company pursued a combination of cost discipline, a focus on core products, and strategic partnerships to stabilize operations. Against this backdrop, Apple sought cash, credible signals to the market, and software commitments that would reassure users and enterprise customers.

The 1997 agreement between Microsoft and Apple

Deal announcement and public presentation

On August 6, 1997, at Macworld Expo, Steve Jobs announced a sweeping agreement between Apple and Microsoft. Bill Gates joined the presentation via satellite feed. The public reaction combined surprise and relief: surprise because Microsoft and Apple were long‑standing competitors; relief because the deal signaled outside support for Apple’s survival.

Financial terms of the investment

As reported at the time, Microsoft agreed to buy $150 million of non‑voting, convertible preferred stock in Apple. The preferred stock provided Apple with much‑needed cash while giving Microsoft a financial stake without immediate voting control. The preferred shares were convertible into common stock under specified terms, a structure commonly used to provide downside protection and a contractual mechanism for later equity conversion.

Additional deal terms and commitments

The agreement included several operational and legal elements beyond the capital infusion:

• Microsoft committed to continue developing and supporting Microsoft Office for the Mac platform for a number of years, an important reassurance for Apple’s professional and enterprise customers.
• The companies agreed on cross‑licensing arrangements for existing intellectual property disputes, providing mutual release from certain claims.
• Apple agreed to make Internet Explorer the default web browser on Macintosh systems for a period, reflecting the commercial tradeoffs of the deal.

These elements combined to provide Apple with cash, software continuity, and a degree of litigation settlement, while offering Microsoft strategic benefits described below.

Reasons and motivations

Several factors likely motivated Microsoft and Apple to make the deal:

• For Apple, the $150 million investment was an immediate cash infusion and a public signal of confidence at a precarious time. It also secured multi‑year Office support for Mac users, an important product line that kept the platform viable in business and creative markets.
• For Microsoft, the move had regulatory and business motivations. The late 1990s saw intense antitrust scrutiny of Microsoft; publicly supporting Apple framed Microsoft as not seeking to kill competing platforms and softened optics during legal proceedings. Microsoft also had commercial incentives to maintain Office’s presence on the Mac and to avoid a world in which Mac disappeared and alternative platforms reduced demand for Microsoft productivity software.
• Strategically, Microsoft hedged: a stake in Apple aligned incentives in some product areas without giving Microsoft control of Apple.

Conversion to common stock and holdings

Press accounts and retrospective reporting indicate Microsoft later converted its preferred shares into common stock. Conversion was reported around or after 2000–2001 in various media pieces; secondary sources commonly cite a figure of about 18.1 million common shares after conversion. These figures are drawn from press reports and public recollections — while widely reported, they should be treated as sourced to contemporary media rather than definitive SEC line‑items in this article. The conversion meant Microsoft moved from a preferred (non‑voting) position to a standard equity stake in Apple common shares.

Sale of Microsoft’s Apple stake

Microsoft faced contractual lockup periods that limited immediate sale following the 1997 deal. Over time, and consistent with typical lockup and conversion schedules, Microsoft began to dispose of the converted Apple common stock. Contemporary reporting indicates Microsoft had sold the entire Apple stake by roughly mid‑2003. Many news outlets at the time and in later retrospectives reported Microsoft realized approximately $550 million in proceeds from those sales, representing a gain over the original $150 million investment but far smaller than the hypothetical value the stake would have reached had it been retained through Apple’s later multi‑billion‑dollar market capitalization expansion.

When answering "does microsoft still own apple stock," it is important to emphasize that following the conversion and subsequent disposals, Microsoft no longer owned the shares that traced back to the 1997 transaction.

Current status (direct answer)

In direct terms: does microsoft still own apple stock from the 1997 investment? No. Microsoft converted its preferred shares into common stock and sold that position; contemporary reporting places the completion of sales by around 2003. Therefore, Microsoft does not still own the Apple shares purchased in 1997.

Hypothetical valuation if Microsoft had held the stake

Many retrospective articles have calculated how large the Microsoft position would be worth today if the company had held those shares. These calculations are illustrative and depend on the date used for valuation, all subsequent stock splits, and the timing of any additional stock issuance or corporate actions. Key points for readers:

• Any hypothetical valuation must adjust for stock splits and dividend activity (Apple has completed multiple stock splits since 1997, including 2‑for‑1 and 7‑for‑1 splits and a 4‑for‑1 split in later years), which affect share counts for earlier holdings.
• Secondary articles commonly estimate that an original $150 million stake, had it been retained, would be worth many billions of dollars by the late 2010s and early 2020s. Exact figures vary by calculation date; such figures are hypothetical and for illustration only.

For transparency: widely‑circulated retrospectives have noted that Microsoft’s converted position (reported as ~18.1M shares at conversion) would multiply extensively through subsequent Apple stock splits and price appreciation. Those hypothetical numbers are often used to illustrate the opportunity cost of the sale but should not be presented as precise accounting without specific split‑adjusted calculations and date references.

Market and historical impact

The 1997 Microsoft investment had outsized symbolic impact relative to its monetary scale at the time. It accomplished several market and industry effects:

• It signaled to customers, developers, and investors that Apple had credible partners and a chance to stabilize, reducing the probability of immediate collapse.
• For Microsoft, the move helped modify public perceptions during a period of antitrust scrutiny and litigation.
• The deal is frequently cited in tech histories as a turning point that, combined with Steve Jobs’s product refocusing, helped set Apple on a path to recovery and later growth.

In later years, the story became part of industry lore: a relatively modest investment that, if held, would have translated into extraordinary paper gains as Apple became one of the world’s most valuable companies.

Legal and regulatory context

Microsoft in the late 1990s was under substantial antitrust scrutiny from U.S. regulators concerned about monopoly behavior in PC operating systems and browser distribution. The deal with Apple included elements that addressed intellectual property disputes and offered Microsoft a public facing argument that it was supporting competition in personal computing. Microsoft’s commitments to keep Office on the Mac and to maintain certain product arrangements fit into broader regulatory and public relations considerations of the time.

The transaction itself did not resolve all legal matters between the companies, but the cross‑licensing and business agreements reduced litigation and helped both companies move forward amid an active regulatory environment.

See also

• Apple Inc. — company history and 1990s turnaround
• Microsoft–Apple relations — competitive and cooperative phases
• 1990s tech antitrust cases — broader regulatory environment
• Microsoft Office for Mac — role in Mac ecosystem continuity

References

Sources used for this article include contemporary reporting and later retrospectives. Where possible, date references are provided to clarify the reporting timeframe. No external hyperlinks are included here; titles and publications are shown so readers can verify independently.

• XDA Developers — "27 years ago, Microsoft bought $150 million worth of Apple stock..." (reporting on the 1997 investment and retrospectives)
• AskWoody / Neowin repost — "A quick look back at when Microsoft invested $150 million in Apple ..."
• Inc. — "Nearly 20 Years Ago, Microsoft Sold Its Apple Stock for $550 Million" (retrospective reporting on sale proceeds)
• Neowin — "A quick look back at when Microsoft invested $150 million in Apple ..."
• Wccftech — "Microsoft Turned Out To Be Apple's Unlikely Savior 27 Years Ago ..."
• The Next Web — "Microsoft once owned a chunk of Apple, here's what it would have been worth today"
• Bloomberg excerpt (market context piece with broader tech market commentary) — cited for contemporaneous market context. As of Jan 14, 2026, Bloomberg reported on broader tech valuations and market developments relevant to large-cap tech companies.

Note: specific numerical claims about the conversion (commonly cited as ~18.1 million common shares) and sale proceeds (commonly cited at about $550 million) derive from contemporary press accounts and later retrospectives — they are widely reported figures but are not reproduced here as definitive SEC‑filed tables in this article. Readers who need official transaction and filing details should consult Apple and Microsoft SEC filings from the period (1997–2003) for primary documentation.

External links and suggested original sources for verification

(For verification, consult archived coverage of the Aug 6, 1997 Macworld announcement, contemporaneous press releases from Apple and Microsoft, and SEC filings for official transaction descriptions and sale disclosures.)

Historical timeline (condensed)

• 1997 (Aug 6): Microsoft announces a $150 million purchase of non‑voting preferred Apple stock; Steve Jobs and Bill Gates present the agreement publicly.
• Late 1990s–early 2000s: Microsoft’s preferred shares are reported to have been convertible into common shares; conversion is widely reported by the press around 2000–2001.
• By ~2003 (mid‑2003): Microsoft had disposed of the converted common shares; press reports place proceeds at approximately $550 million.

Additional notes on data and verification

• As of Jan 14, 2026, Bloomberg and other business news outlets continue to cover large-cap tech valuations, company market caps, and historical transactions that shaped current market structure; such coverage provides background but does not alter the historical fact that Microsoft sold the Apple stake from the 1997 deal.
• For precise, legally binding numbers (e.g., exact conversion ratios, number of shares sold on specific dates, and realized gains/losses), consult the SEC filings (Form 8‑K, 10‑Q and 10‑K filings) from Microsoft and Apple during the 1997–2004 period.

Why this matters today

The story behind "does microsoft still own apple stock" matters because it highlights how modest strategic investments, coupled with product and management changes, can reshape a company’s trajectory. Microsoft’s investment was small relative to Apple’s later market capitalization but played an outsized role as a market signal. It also exemplifies interactions between regulatory environments and corporate strategy in the tech sector.

If you are exploring technology market history, company strategy, or how corporate investments and legal contexts intersect, this case is a concise example. For traders and students of corporate strategy, the episode underscores the difference between short‑term returns and long‑term opportunity costs — while Microsoft earned a positive return on the 1997 investment, retaining the stake would have produced a far larger notional gain.

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Further exploration: consult primary source materials (press releases, Macworld archives, and SEC filings) and the retrospective analyses listed in the References section to verify dates, conversion mechanics, and sale timelines.