Microsoft’s 1986 initial public offering helped create the world’s largest publicly traded software business.
Microsoft went public on March 13, 1986, at an adjusted price of about 21 cents per share after later stock splits. The offering followed the company’s rapid expansion through MS-DOS, its agreement with IBM to provide an operating system for the IBM PC, and the growing personal-computer market.
Microsoft later became one of the world’s most valuable companies by building major businesses around Windows, Office, server software, gaming, search, and cloud computing. Its Azure cloud platform became a central part of the company’s modern growth and market valuation.
The IPO itself did not instantly make Microsoft the world’s richest company by market capitalization. Rather, it gave public investors a way to buy shares and supplied a market price that could be tracked over time. Market cap reflects that share price multiplied by shares outstanding.