Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

The financial ratios and cycle periods exhibit notable fluctuations and discernible patterns over the periods analyzed. Inventory turnover demonstrates a generally increasing trend from Sep 30, 2019, reaching a remarkable peak in Dec 31, 2024, followed by a slight decline toward Jun 30, 2025. This indicates improving efficiency in inventory management over time, with some variability in intermediate quarters.

Receivables turnover shows irregular variations with periods of both increase and decrease, lacking a sustained directional trend. The ratio generally fluctuates around the range of approximately 4 to 6, suggesting stable but cyclic changes in the efficiency of collecting receivables.

Payables turnover remains relatively stable throughout the timeline, fluctuating modestly between 3.1 and 4.3. This stability implies consistent management of payables without significant operational changes influencing payment speed.

Working capital turnover reveals a significant increase from 1.3 in earlier periods to a peak nearing 8.6 in the latest periods, although it slightly declines toward the very end. This indicates enhanced utilization of working capital to generate revenue, reflecting operational improvements or changes in asset and liability management.

Examining the average inventory processing period, there is a noticeable decline from higher values (around 20-24 days) in early and mid periods to as low as 4 days towards the end. This reduction aligns with the rise in inventory turnover and signifies faster inventory movement and likely better supply chain operations.

The average receivable collection period shows oscillations between approximately 55 and 90 days, indicating variability in how quickly sales revenues are collected from customers. Peaks and troughs alternate without a clear long-term trend, suggesting that credit collection policies and customer behavior may be uneven across quarters.

The operating cycle fluctuates within a wide range (approximately 70 to 103 days), mirroring changes in inventory processing and receivables collection. The absence of a strong trend indicates stable but variable total time taken from inventory acquisition to cash collection.

The average payables payment period remains mostly stable, generally between 90 and 115 days, with occasional dips and rises. This suggests consistent payment terms with suppliers or consistent payment practices over time.

The cash conversion cycle reflects the combined effects of the above periods. Notably, it predominantly remains negative, ranging mainly from about -2 to -41 days, indicating that the company tends to delay payments longer than it takes to convert inventory and receivables into cash. This negative cycle enhances liquidity management by optimizing timing between cash inflows and outflows. The cycle's variability, including brief moves toward less negative or near-zero values, indicates period-to-period operational adjustments impacting working capital timing.

Overall, the data portrays progressive improvements in working capital efficiency, particularly through accelerated inventory turnover and reduced processing periods. Receivables and payables management remain relatively stable but periodically fluctuate, influencing the operating and cash conversion cycles. The consistently negative cash conversion cycle is a positive indicator of liquidity management effectiveness over the analyzed timeframe.

The financial data indicates several notable trends and variations over the examined periods concerning cost of revenue, inventories, and inventory turnover ratio.

Cost of Revenue

The cost of revenue exhibits a generally increasing trend over the time frame. Early values around the end of 2019 and early 2020 fluctuate slightly, with figures ranging approximately from $10,406 million to $14,194 million. From mid-2020 onwards, there is a steady upward trajectory reaching $24,014 million by June 2025. This increase signals rising expenses associated with generating revenue, which could result from business expansion, increased production costs, or other operational factors.

Inventories

Inventory levels display significant variability across the quarters. Initially, inventories start at $2,622 million in September 2019 and experience a downward trend until March 2020, falling to $1,644 million. Subsequently, inventory amounts fluctuate, peaking around $4,268 million in September 2022 before declining notably to as low as $848 million in December 2024. This volatility suggests changes in inventory management strategy, supply chain dynamics, or demand fluctuations that impact stock levels maintained.

Inventory Turnover Ratio

The inventory turnover ratio, provided from March 2020 onward, reveals considerable variations. Early observed ratios range around 15 to 25, signifying moderate inventory efficiency. However, starting in late 2023 and continuing through 2025, the ratio escalates sharply, reaching extremely high figures such as 88.1 in March 2025, 98.47 in June 2025, and slightly declining to 93.64 in September 2025. These elevated turnover ratios imply much faster inventory cycle times, possibly due to stronger sales, reduced inventory levels, or improved inventory management effectiveness.

Overall, the interplay of rising cost of revenue, fluctuating inventory levels, and accelerating inventory turnover suggests evolving operational conditions. The spike in turnover alongside reduced inventories near the later periods may indicate increased efficiency or changes in business strategy aimed at optimizing inventory use and responding to market demands.

The data reveals several key trends regarding revenue, accounts receivable, and receivables turnover ratios over multiple quarterly periods.

Revenue

Revenue demonstrates a generally increasing trajectory throughout the observed periods. Starting from approximately 33,055 million USD in September 2019, it shows consistent growth with minor fluctuations. Notable increases are observed toward the end of 2020 and continuing into 2024 and 2025 periods, peaking at over 76,000 million USD by June 2025. This steady rise indicates sustained business expansion and likely market demand growth.

Accounts Receivable, Net of Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Accounts receivable values exhibit substantial volatility and periodic spikes. For instance, the amount surged significantly in June 2020 to about 32,011 million USD from a previous value near 22,699 million USD in March 2020. Similar large increases are noted in June 2021, June 2022, June 2023, and June 2025, suggesting a seasonal or cyclical effect that results in increased outstanding receivables during mid-year quarters. The values generally increase over time as well, rising from around 19,087 million USD in late 2019 to approximately 69,905 million USD by the second quarter of 2025, indicating increased sales on credit or elongated collection periods.

Receivables Turnover Ratio

The receivables turnover ratio fluctuates between approximately 4.0 and 6.5 across quarters. This ratio peaks in certain quarters (notably around 6.4 to 6.5), which aligns with periods following spikes in receivables, suggesting improved collection efficiency during those times. Conversely, dips below 4.5 occur periodically, indicating slower collections or increased receivables relative to revenue during those intervals. The overall pattern suggests variability in how effectively the company is managing to convert receivables into cash across quarters, without a clear long-term upward or downward trend.

In summary, revenue growth is steady and strong, while accounts receivable shows cyclical increases and an upward trend over time, implying increased credit sales and possibly longer collection times. The receivables turnover ratio varies periodically, reflecting fluctuations in collection efficiency without a consistent directional shift. Careful management of accounts receivable will be important to sustain cash flows amid growing revenues and credit sales.

The cost of revenue demonstrates notable fluctuations over the observed periods. Initially, it rose from 10,406 million USD in September 2019 to a peak of 17,488 million USD in December 2022, indicating a general upward trend in expenses related to generating revenue. Following this peak, there is some variation, with periodic decreases and increases, but the overall trajectory continues upward, reaching 24,014 million USD by June 2025. This suggests escalating costs or expanded operational scale over time.

Accounts payable figures also depict a rising pattern with some volatility. Starting at 8,574 million USD in September 2019, accounts payable increased steadily and experienced several peaks and troughs, notably reaching 19,000 million USD in June 2022, dropping somewhat afterward, then climbing again to 27,724 million USD by September 2025. The general trend implies a rising reliance on short-term liabilities or purchasing on credit, coinciding with increased business activity or procurement needs.

Payables turnover ratios fluctuate throughout the periods, ranging roughly between 3.17 and 4.28. Higher turnover ratios, such as the 4.28 recorded in March 2023, indicate faster payment to suppliers, while lower ratios suggest relatively slower payments. The data shows alternating phases of increased and decreased turnover, reflecting variable payment practices or changes in supplier terms. Despite these fluctuations, the ratio maintains a moderate level, suggesting a generally consistent but dynamic accounts payable management.

Cost of Revenue Trend

General increase from 10,406 million USD to over 24,000 million USD over the nearly six-year span, indicating rising operational costs or business expansion.

Accounts Payable Trend

Steady increase from approximately 8,500 million USD to over 27,700 million USD, with intermittent fluctuations, signifying greater use of credit or extended supplier financing.

Payables Turnover Ratio

Variable ratio oscillating between 3.17 and 4.28, reflecting changing speeds of supplier payment, yet maintaining an overall moderate turnover pace.

Relationship Between Metrics

Rising cost of revenue coupled with increased accounts payable suggests expanded procurement and operational demands. Payables turnover variations hint at adaptive payment management in response to changing financial conditions or supplier negotiations.

Working Capital

The working capital exhibits a generally fluctuating trend over the observed periods. From September 2019 to December 2021, it ranged between approximately 93,000 and 107,000 million US dollars, with a slight decline observable from the end of 2019 through early 2021. Starting from March 2022, a significant drop is noticeable, where working capital decreased sharply to values around 76,000 million US dollars and continued to decline further, reaching a low point near 26,000 million US dollars in December 2023. Afterwards, there is a steady recovery trend, with working capital rising again and reaching approximately 49,000 million US dollars by June 2025. This pattern suggests increased variability and a potential liquidity tightening period followed by a gradual improvement.

Revenue

Revenue shows a consistent upward trend across the entire timeframe. Beginning at around 33,000 million US dollars in September 2019, revenue demonstrates steady growth with periodic increases each quarter. Notably, there is an acceleration in revenue growth starting from 2020, with multiple quarters surpassing the 50,000 million mark from late 2020 onwards. The highest values occur in the last quarters of the dataset, nearing 76,000 million US dollars by mid-2025. This consistent increase reflects ongoing revenue expansion and potential business growth over the period.

Working Capital Turnover Ratio

The working capital turnover ratio is unavailable for the initial quarters but begins to be reported starting March 2020. Initially, it shows a gradual increase from 1.3 to nearly 2.7 between early 2020 and late 2022, indicating improved efficiency in using working capital to generate revenue. Following this period, there is a significant surge in the ratio, peaking at around 8.6 in December 2023, which corresponds to the period when working capital was notably low. This peak suggests a heightened intensity of revenue generation relative to working capital during that quarter. Subsequently, the ratio diminishes steadily to approximately 5.6 by June 2025, indicating a normalization to lower but still elevated efficiency levels compared to earlier years.

Overall Observations

The data reveals a scenario where revenue trends positively with sustained growth, while working capital undergoes marked fluctuations including a substantial dip followed by recovery. The working capital turnover ratio aligns with these behaviors, reflecting an initial efficiency improvement, a sharp spike likely associated with constrained working capital, and a partial return to moderate turnover levels. These patterns suggest changes in operational or financial management practices impacting liquidity and capital utilization efficiency throughout the periods analyzed.

Inventory Turnover

The inventory turnover ratio demonstrates noticeable fluctuations across the available quarterly data. Early values beginning from September 2020 show ratios ranging from approximately 16 to 25, indicating periodic variations in the efficiency with which inventory is sold and replaced. Between 2020 and early 2023, the ratio mostly oscillates within the range of 15 to 27, signaling moderate turnover rates. However, starting from late 2023, there is a marked and significant increase in the ratio, reaching extremely high values up to 98.47 by the end of 2024, before slightly declining to 93.64 in mid-2025. This trend suggests a dramatic acceleration in inventory turnover, implying enhanced operational efficiency or changes in inventory management practices during this period.

Average Inventory Processing Period

The average inventory processing period, expressed in days, exhibits an inverse pattern to the inventory turnover ratio as expected. Initial figures from September 2020 show processing times fluctuating around 15 to 24 days. Over the next few years, the days generally trend upward slightly, peaking near 24 days in late 2021 and 2022, then declining steadily afterward. From late 2023 onward, the period decreases sharply to as low as 4 days by mid-2025. This decline in the inventory processing period corresponds directly with the sharp rise in inventory turnover, indicating a faster conversion of inventory into sales.

Overall Insights

The data reveals a clear relationship between inventory turnover and the average inventory processing period, consistent with financial principles where higher turnover equates to fewer days held in inventory. The significant improvement from late 2023 to mid-2025 signals a materially improved inventory management performance, contributing presumably to better liquidity and operational effectiveness. Prior to this period, the ratios remained relatively stable with some minor volatility. These trends could indicate strategic changes such as more efficient supply chain management, stronger sales performance, or shifts in inventory policies.

The receivables turnover ratio exhibits a recurring oscillation pattern over the reported quarters, fluctuating between higher points around 6.4 and lower points near 4.3 to 4.5. Initially observed from June 30, 2020, the ratio rises sharply from 4.47 to 6.44 in the following quarter, then generally follows a cyclical decline and recovery pattern through subsequent quarters. Although the ratio demonstrates periodic peaks and troughs, there is no clear long-term upward or downward trend discernible over the full timespan.

Correspondingly, the average receivable collection period displays an inverse cyclical pattern relative to the receivables turnover ratio. Starting at 82 days, it decreases to a low near 56-57 days during quarters when the turnover ratio peaks, and rises back to around 83-85 days as the turnover ratio declines. In the most recent periods, the collection period increases to as high as 91 days, indicating a lengthening in the average time to collect receivables compared to earlier quarters. This suggests some variability in the efficiency of credit and collection processes over time.

Receivables Turnover Ratio

Shows regular oscillations with peaks approximately every other quarter, fluctuating between approximately 4.0 and 6.5 times.

Lack of a consistent upward or downward trend within the available data.

Peaks in turnover ratio align with periods of lower average collection periods.

Average Receivable Collection Period

Exhibits cyclical variation inversely related to the receivables turnover ratio.

Ranges from about 56 days at the shortest collection periods to approximately 91 days at the longest.

Recent quarters show a trend toward increasing collection days, indicating slower receivables collection.

The inverse relationship between the two metrics aligns with expected financial principles, where a higher turnover ratio corresponds to fewer days outstanding. The data suggest that while the company generally maintains a consistent pattern of receivables management, some recent quarters have shown signs of elongating collection periods, which may warrant further investigation into working capital efficiency and credit policy adjustments.

The analysis of the data on inventory processing period, receivable collection period, and operating cycle over multiple quarters reveals several notable trends.

Average Inventory Processing Period

The average inventory processing period displayed some fluctuation over the observed quarters. Initially, it started at 15 days, followed by increases and decreases with values rising to 24 days by the end of 2022. After this peak, the period shortened significantly, reaching as low as 4 days by mid-2025. This trend suggests an improvement in inventory management efficiency during the latter part of the timeline.

Average Receivable Collection Period

The average receivable collection period exhibited variability but remained relatively stable within a range, oscillating typically between about 56 and 85 days. Peaks were noted around the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025, reaching 91 days, indicating potential delays in receivables collection during that time. However, intermittent improvements were observed as well, demonstrating fluctuations in the company’s ability to collect receivables promptly.

Operating Cycle

The operating cycle, calculated as the sum of inventory processing and receivable collection periods, reflected the combined effects of the two components. It ranged predominantly between 70 and 103 days, with peaks corresponding to periods of higher inventory days and longer receivable collection periods. Notably, after reaching a high point early in the dataset, the cycle showed some periods of reduction, particularly after 2023, indicating an overall trend toward a more efficient operating cycle in more recent quarters.

Overall, the data suggest gradual operational improvements, particularly in inventory management, while receivable collection periods remain somewhat variable with occasional spikes, influencing the operating cycle length. These patterns highlight areas of both stable performance and opportunities for further enhancement in working capital management.

The analyzed financial data reveals the dynamics of payables management over several quarters, emphasizing two key metrics: payables turnover ratio and average payables payment period expressed in days.

Payables Turnover Ratio

The payables turnover ratio maintains a moderate range throughout the periods, fluctuating between approximately 3.17 and 4.28. Starting from a value of 3.68, it shows slight growth tendencies until it peaks near 4.28 before experiencing some decline and variability. The ratio appears to have cyclical movements, indicating variations in the frequency with which the company settles its payables in relation to its purchases or expenses. The peak values suggest relatively faster payments in certain quarters, while troughs imply slower turnover. Such oscillations might reflect operational or supplier negotiation factors affecting payment speed.

Average Payables Payment Period (Days)

This metric reveals an inverse relation to the turnover ratio, ranging approximately between 85 and 115 days. Initially high, the number of days required to settle payables decreases to a low near 85 days, indicating quicker payments, before increasing again to over 110 days. The payment period demonstrates a degree of variability, with recurrent cycles of elongation and abbreviation over time. Longer payment periods could reflect extended credit terms from suppliers or deliberate working capital management decisions, while shorter periods suggest quicker cash outflows towards payables.

Overall, the data illustrates alternating phases of accelerated and decelerated payables settlement. The fluctuations in payables turnover and payment period suggest adaptive working capital policies, potential seasonality in cash flow management, or changing supplier agreement terms. These trends should be monitored continuously to optimize cash flow efficiency without impairing supplier relationships.

The data reveals notable fluctuations in the company's operational efficiency metrics over the periods reported.

Average Inventory Processing Period

This metric displays variability across the quarters, starting from 15 days in September 2020 and peaking at 24 days in December 2022. There is a general trend of moderate fluctuation with a slight reduction towards the end of the period, declining to 4 days by June 2025. This indicates improved inventory turnover in the most recent quarters.

Average Receivable Collection Period

The collection period demonstrates irregular movement throughout the periods. Initially around 82 days in September 2020, it varies between highs of approximately 85 to 91 days and lows near 56 to 57 days. Towards the last few quarters, a rising trend is observed, reaching 91 days in September 2024, suggesting an elongation in the time taken to collect receivables.

Average Payables Payment Period

Payables payment duration remains relatively stable but with slight short-term fluctuations. The period generally fluctuates in the range from mid-90s to 115 days, peaking at 115 days in both March and June 2025. This upward movement toward the later quarters indicates the company is taking longer to pay its suppliers over time.

Cash Conversion Cycle

The cash conversion cycle remains negative throughout the observed periods, indicating effective management in converting resources into cash quickly. The cycle shows considerable volatility, ranging from -2 days in September 2020 to a nadir of -41 days in March 2025. The negative values and volatility imply that the company is able to delay payments and accelerate collections efficiently, with the cash conversion cycle generally improving (becoming more negative) toward the latest quarters.

Overall, the data suggests an improvement in inventory management and cash conversion efficiency, despite some elongation in the receivable collection and payables payment periods. The sustained negative cash conversion cycle highlights strong operational cash flow management practices.