Microsoft started out by licensing its Windows operating system to PC manufacturers, but it's a much broader company 40 years later. Windows licensing sales are now exceeded by its cloud computing operation, Azure, and its Office productivity suite.
The company also operates a gaming segment led by Xbox and Activision Blizzard, an advertising business across its search engine, web portal, and the LinkedIn social network. Additionally, it has a relatively small consumer device segment.
Driven by its relationship with OpenAI, in which it's a major investor, the company sees AI as the next major frontier and has invested significantly in new products like the Azure OpenAI and its Copilot AI assistant.
How to Invest in FAANG Stocks
If you want to buy a FAANG stock, the process is simple. Just follow the steps below.
- Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments. If you don't have one yet, take a look at our favorite brokers and trading platforms to find the right one for you.
- Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
- Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
- Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
- Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
- Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.
Future outlook for FAANG stocks
The future outlook for FAANG stocks is strong. These companies rose to dominate the tech industry and the stock market because of their competitive advantages, and those only seem to be getting stronger in the AI era.
While there is some concern about antitrust investigations, thus far, these companies have been resilient and have only continued to grow.
Additionally, most FAANG stocks trade at reasonable valuations, meaning they're less exposed to a sell-off or a bear market than most investors might think.
AI only seems to be accelerating demand for key technologies like cloud computing, and these companies are also taking advantage of AI to drive efficiencies in areas like digital advertising.