Microsoft (MSFT) 10-K2016 FY Annual report

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MICROSOFT CORPORATION

FORM 10-K

For The Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2016

INDEX

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Note About Forward-Looking Statements

This report includes estimates, projections, statements relating to our business plans, objectives, and expected operating results that are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements may appear throughout this report, including the following sections: “Business,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis,” and “Risk Factors.” These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. We describe risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially in “Risk Factors” (Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K), “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” (Part II, Item 7A of this Form 10-K), and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis” (Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K). We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise.

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

GENERAL

Our vision

Microsoft is a technology company whose mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our strategy is to build best-in-class platforms and productivity services for a mobile-first, cloud-first world.

The mobile-first, cloud-first world is transforming the way individuals and organizations use and interact with technology. Mobility is not focused on any one device; it is centered on the mobility of experiences that, in turn, are orchestrated by the cloud. Cloud computing and storage solutions provide people and enterprises with various capabilities to store and process their data in third-party datacenters. Mobility encompasses the rich collection of data, applications, and services that accompany our customers as they move from setting to setting in their lives. We are transforming our businesses to enable Microsoft to lead the direction of this digital transformation, and enable our customers and partners to thrive in this evolving world.

What we offer

Founded in 1975, we operate worldwide in over 190 countries. We develop, license, and support a wide range of software products, services, and devices that deliver new opportunities, greater convenience, and enhanced value to people’s lives.

Our products include operating systems; cross-device productivity applications; server applications; business solution applications; desktop and server management tools; software development tools; video games; and training and certification of computer system integrators and developers. We also design, manufacture, and sell devices, including PCs, tablets, gaming and entertainment consoles, phones, other intelligent devices, and related accessories, that integrate with our cloud-based offerings. We offer an array of services, including cloud-based solutions that provide customers with software, services, platforms, and content, and we provide solution support and consulting services. We also deliver relevant online advertising to a global audience.

The ambitions that drive us

To carry out our strategy, our research and development efforts focus on three interconnected ambitions:

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Reinvent productivity and business processes

We believe we can significantly enhance the lives of our customers using our broad portfolio of productivity, communication, and information services that span devices and platforms. Productivity will be the first and foremost objective, to enable people to meet and collaborate more easily, and to effectively express ideas in new ways. We invent new scenarios that in turn create opportunity for our partners and help businesses accelerate their transformation while respecting each person’s privacy choices. The foundation for these efforts will rest on advancing our leading productivity, collaboration, communication, and business process tools including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, OneDrive, Skype, and Microsoft Dynamics (“Dynamics”). With Office 365, we provide these familiar industry-leading productivity and business process tools as cloud services, enabling access from anywhere and any device. This creates an opportunity to reach new customers and expand the usage of our services by our existing customers. We see opportunity in combining our offerings in new ways that are mobile, collaborative, intelligent and trustworthy. We offer our services across platforms and devices outside our own. As people move from device to device, so will their content and the richness of their services. We engineer our applications so users can find, try, and buy them in friction-free ways.

Build the intelligent cloud platform

In deploying technology that advances business strategy, enterprises decide what solutions will make employees more productive, collaborative, and satisfied, and connect with customers in new and compelling ways. They work to unlock business insights from a world of data. To achieve these objectives, increasingly businesses look to leverage the benefits of the cloud. Helping businesses move to the cloud is one of our largest opportunities, and we believe we work from a position of strength. Microsoft is one of two leaders in the market.

The shift to the cloud is driven by three important economies of scale: larger datacenters can deploy computational resources at significantly lower cost per unit than smaller ones; larger datacenters can coordinate and aggregate diverse customer, geographic, and application demand patterns, improving the utilization of computing, storage, and network resources; and multi-tenancy lowers application maintenance labor costs for large public clouds. As one of the largest providers of cloud computing at scale, we are well-positioned to help businesses move to the cloud and focus on innovation while leaving non-differentiating activities to reliable and cost-effective providers like Microsoft.

We believe our server products and cloud services, which include Microsoft SQL Server (“SQL Server”), Windows Server, Visual Studio, System Center, and Microsoft Azure (“Azure”), make us the only company with a public, private, and hybrid cloud platform that can power modern business. With Azure, we are one of very few cloud vendors that run at a scale that meets the needs of businesses of all sizes and complexities. We are working to enhance the return on IT investment by enabling enterprises to combine their existing datacenters and our public cloud into a single cohesive infrastructure. Businesses can deploy applications in their own datacenter, a partner’s datacenter, or in our datacenters with common security, management, and administration across all environments, with the flexibility and scale they want.

We enable organizations to securely adopt software-as-a-service applications, both our own and third-party, and integrate them with their existing security and management infrastructure. We continue to innovate with higher-level services including identity and directory services that manage employee corporate identity and manage and secure corporate information accessed and stored across a growing number of devices, rich data storage and analytics services, machine learning services, media services, web and mobile backend services, and developer productivity services. To foster a rich developer ecosystem, our platform is extensible, enabling customers and partners to further customize and enhance our solutions, achieving even more value. This strategy requires continuing investment in datacenters and other infrastructure to support our services.

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Create more personal computing

We strive to make computing more personal by putting users at the core of the experience, enabling them to interact with technology in more intuitive, engaging, and dynamic ways. A computing device should be not just a tool, but a partner. Windows 10 is the cornerstone of our ambition to usher in this era of more personal computing. We consider the launch of Windows 10 in July 2015 to be a transformative moment as we moved from an operating system that runs on a PC to a service that can power the full spectrum of devices. We developed Windows 10 not only to be familiar to our users, but more safe, secure, and always up-to-date. Windows 10 is more personal and productive with functionality such as Cortana, Windows Hello, Windows Ink, Microsoft Edge, and universal applications. Windows 10 is designed to foster innovation – from us, our partners, and developers – through rich and consistent experiences across the range of existing devices and entirely new device categories.

Our ambition for Windows 10 is to broaden our economic opportunity through three key levers: an original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) ecosystem that creates exciting new hardware designs for Windows 10; our own commitment to the health and profitability of our first-party premium device portfolio; and monetization opportunities such as services, subscriptions, gaming, and search advertising. Our OEM partners are investing in an extensive portfolio of hardware designs and configurations for Windows 10. We now have the widest range of Windows hardware ever available.

With the unified Windows operating system, developers and OEMs can contribute to a thriving Windows ecosystem. We invest heavily to make Windows the most secure, manageable, and capable operating system for the needs of a modern workforce. We are working to create a broad developer opportunity by unifying the installed base to Windows 10 through upgrades and ongoing updates, and by enabling universal Windows applications to run across all device targets. As part of our strategic objectives, we are committed to designing and marketing first-party devices to help drive innovation, create new categories, and stimulate demand in the Windows ecosystem. We are developing new input/output methods within Windows 10, including speech, pen, gesture, and augmented reality holograms to power more personal computing experiences.

Our future opportunity

There are several distinct areas of technology that we aim to drive forward. Our goal is to lead the industry in these areas over the long-term, which we expect will translate to sustained growth. We are investing significant resources in:

We believe the breadth of our products and services portfolio, our large global partner and customer base, our growing ecosystem, and our ongoing investment in innovation position us to be a leader in these areas and differentiate ourselves from competitors.

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OPERATING SEGMENTS

Our segments provide management with a comprehensive financial view of our key businesses. The segments enable the alignment of strategies and objectives across the development, sales, marketing, and services organizations, and they provide a framework for timely and rational allocation of resources within businesses.

In June 2015, we announced a change in organizational structure to align to our strategic direction as a productivity and platform company. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2016, our chief operating decision maker, who is also our Chief Executive Officer, requested changes in the information that he regularly reviews for purposes of allocating resources and assessing performance. As a result, beginning in fiscal year 2016, we report our financial performance based on our new segments, Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing.

Additional information on our operating segments and geographic and product information is contained in Note 21 – Segment Information and Geographic Data of the Notes to Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K).

Our reportable segments are described below.

Productivity and Business Processes

Our Productivity and Business Processes segment consists of products and services in our portfolio of productivity, communication, and information services, spanning a variety of devices and platforms. This segment primarily comprises:

Office Commercial

Office Commercial is designed to increase personal, team, and organizational productivity through a range of products and services. Growth depends on our ability to reach new users, add value to our core product set, and continue to expand our product and service offerings into new markets such as security, analytics, collaboration, unified communications, and business intelligence. Office Commercial revenue is mainly affected by a combination of the demand from commercial customers for volume licensing and Software Assurance and the number of information workers in an enterprise, as well as the continued shift to Office 365. Office 365 is our cloud-based service that provides access to Office plus other productivity services. CALs provide access rights to certain Office Commercial products and services, including Exchange, SharePoint, and Skype for Business, and revenue is reported along with the associated Office products and services.

Office Consumer

Office Consumer is designed to increase personal productivity through a range of products and services. Growth depends on our ability to reach new users, add value to our core product set, and continue to expand our product and service offerings into new markets. Office Consumer revenue is mainly affected by the combination of customers that buy Office with their new devices and the continued shift to Office 365. Office Consumer Services revenue is mainly affected by the demand for communication and storage through Skype, Outlook.com, and OneDrive, which is largely driven by subscriptions, advertising, and the sale of minutes. Skype is designed to connect friends, family, clients, and colleagues through a variety of devices.

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Dynamics

Dynamics provides business solutions for financial management, customer relationship management (“CRM”), supply chain management, and analytics applications for small and mid-size businesses, large organizations, and divisions of global enterprises. Dynamics revenue is largely driven by the number of information workers licensed.

Competition

Competitors to Office include software and global application vendors such as Adobe Systems, Apple, Cisco Systems, Facebook, Google, IBM, Oracle, SAP, and numerous web-based and mobile application competitors as well as local application developers in Asia and Europe. Cisco Systems is using its position in enterprise communications equipment to grow its unified communications business. Google provides a hosted messaging and productivity suite. Apple distributes versions of its pre-installed application software, such as email, note-taking, and calendar products, through its PCs, tablets, and phones. Skype for Business and Skype also compete with a variety of instant messaging, voice, and video communication providers, ranging from start-ups to established enterprises. Web-based offerings competing with individual applications have also positioned themselves as alternatives to our products. We believe our products compete effectively based on our strategy of providing powerful, flexible, secure, and easy-to-use solutions that work well with technologies our customers already have and are available on a device or via the cloud.

Our Dynamics products compete with vendors such as Oracle and SAP in the market for large organizations and divisions of global enterprises. In the market focused on providing solutions for small and mid-sized businesses, our Dynamics products compete with vendors such as Infor, The Sage Group, and NetSuite. Salesforce.com’s cloud CRM offerings compete directly with our Dynamics CRM on-premises and CRM Online offerings.

Intelligent Cloud

Our Intelligent Cloud segment consists of our public, private, and hybrid server products and cloud services that can power modern business. This segment primarily comprises:

Server Products and Cloud Services

Our server products are designed to make IT professionals, developers, and their systems more productive and efficient. Server software is integrated server infrastructure and middleware designed to support software applications built on the Windows Server operating system. This includes the server platform, database, business intelligence, storage, management and operations, virtualization, service-oriented architecture platform, security, and identity software. We also license standalone and software development lifecycle tools for software architects, developers, testers, and project managers. Server products and cloud services revenue is mainly affected by purchases through volume licensing programs, licenses sold to OEMs, and retail packaged products. CALs provide access rights to certain server products, including SQL Server and Windows Server, and revenue is reported along with the associated server product.

Azure is a scalable cloud platform with computing, networking, storage, database, and management, along with advanced services such as analytics, and comprehensive solutions such as Enterprise Mobility Suite. Azure includes a flexible platform that helps developers build, deploy, and manage enterprise, mobile, web, and Internet of Things applications, for any platform or device without having to worry about the underlying infrastructure. Azure enables customers to devote more resources to development and use of applications that benefit their organizations, rather than managing on-premises hardware and software.

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Enterprise Services

Enterprise Services, including Premier Support Services and Microsoft Consulting Services, assist customers in developing, deploying, and managing Microsoft server and desktop solutions and provide training and certification to developers and IT professionals on various Microsoft products.

Competition

Our server products face competition from a wide variety of server operating systems and applications offered by companies with a range of market approaches. Vertically integrated computer manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Oracle offer their own versions of the Unix operating system preinstalled on server hardware. Nearly all computer manufacturers offer server hardware for the Linux operating system and many contribute to Linux operating system development. The competitive position of Linux has also benefited from the large number of compatible applications now produced by many commercial and non-commercial software developers. A number of companies, such as Red Hat, supply versions of Linux.

We compete to provide enterprise-wide computing solutions and point solutions with numerous commercial software vendors that offer solutions and middleware technology platforms, software applications for connectivity (both Internet and intranet), security, hosting, database, and e-business servers. IBM and Oracle lead a group of companies focused on the Java Platform Enterprise Edition that competes with our enterprise-wide computing solutions. Commercial competitors for our server applications for PC-based distributed client/server environments include CA Technologies, IBM, and Oracle. Our web application platform software competes with open source software such as Apache, Linux, MySQL, and PHP. In middleware, we compete against Java vendors.

Our database, business intelligence, and data warehousing solutions offerings compete with products from IBM, Oracle, SAP, and other companies. Our system management solutions compete with server management and server virtualization platform providers, such as BMC, CA Technologies, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and VMware. Our products for software developers compete against offerings from Adobe, IBM, Oracle, other companies, and open-source projects, including Eclipse (sponsored by CA Technologies, IBM, Oracle, and SAP), PHP, and Ruby on Rails, among others.

We believe our server products provide customers with advantages in performance, total costs of ownership, and productivity by delivering superior applications, development tools, compatibility with a broad base of hardware and software applications, security, and manageability.

Azure faces diverse competition from companies such as Amazon, Google, IBM, Oracle, Salesforce.com, VMware, and open source offerings. Azure’s competitive advantage includes enabling a hybrid cloud, allowing deployment of existing datacenters with our public cloud into a single, cohesive infrastructure, and the ability to run at a scale that meets the needs of businesses of all sizes and complexities.

Our Enterprise Services business competes with a wide range of companies that provide strategy and business planning, application development, and infrastructure services, including multinational consulting firms and small niche businesses focused on specific technologies.

More Personal Computing

Our More Personal Computing segment consists of products and services geared towards harmonizing the interests of end users, developers, and IT professionals across screens of all sizes. This segment primarily comprises:

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Windows

The Windows operating system is designed to deliver a more personal computing experience for users by enabling consistency of experience, applications, and information across their devices. We consider the launch of Windows 10 in July 2015 to be a transformative moment as we moved from an operating system that runs on a PC to a service that can power the full spectrum of devices.

Windows revenue is impacted significantly by the number of Windows operating system licenses purchased by OEMs, which they pre-install on the devices they sell. In addition to computing device market volume, Windows revenue is impacted by:

Volume licensing of the Windows operating system is affected mainly by the demand from commercial customers for volume licensing and Software Assurance, often reflecting the number of information workers in a licensed enterprise, and is therefore relatively independent of the number of PCs sold in a given year.

Patent licensing includes our programs to license patents across a broad array of technology areas, including mobile devices and cloud offerings.

Windows Embedded extends the power of Windows and the cloud to intelligent systems by delivering specialized operating systems, tools, and services.

Display advertising primarily includes MSN ads. In June 2015, we entered into agreements with AOL and AppNexus to outsource our display sales responsibility.

The Windows Phone operating system is designed to bring users closer to the people, applications, and content they need. Prior to our acquisition of Nokia Corporation’s (“Nokia”) Devices and Services business (“NDS”) in April 2014, Microsoft and Nokia jointly created new mobile products and services and extended established products and services to new markets through a strategic alliance.

Devices

We design, manufacture, and sell devices such as Surface, phones, and other intelligent devices, as well as PC accessories. Our devices are designed to enable people and organizations to connect to the people and content that matter most using integrated Microsoft services and Windows. Surface is designed to help organizations, students, and consumers to be more productive. Our latest Surface devices, the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book, were released in October 2015. We began manufacturing and selling Microsoft Lumia (“Lumia”) phones and other phones with the acquisition of NDS in April 2014. In July 2015, we announced a plan to restructure our phone business to better focus and align resources. In May 2016, we announced plans to further streamline our smartphone hardware business. We also recently announced the sale of our entry-level feature phone business in May 2016. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2016, subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

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Gaming

Our gaming platform is designed to provide a unique variety of entertainment through the use of our devices, peripherals, applications, online services, and content. We released Xbox 360 and Xbox One in November 2005 and November 2013, respectively, and recently announced Xbox One S will be released in August 2016. We also launched our Windows 10 Xbox app in July 2015. Xbox Live enables people to connect and share online gaming experiences and is accessible on Xbox consoles, Windows-enabled devices, and other devices. Xbox Live services consist of subscriptions and sales of Xbox Live enabled content, as well as advertising, and are designed to benefit users by providing access to a network of certified applications and services and to benefit our developer and partner ecosystems by providing access to a large customer base. We also design and sell gaming content to showcase our unique platform capabilities for Xbox consoles, Windows-enabled devices, and other devices. We acquired Mojang Synergies AB, the Swedish video game developer of the Minecraft gaming franchise, in November 2014. The addition of Minecraft and its community enhances our gaming portfolio across Windows, Xbox, and other ecosystems besides our own. We believe the success of our gaming business is determined by the overall active user base through Xbox Live enabled content, availability of games, providing exclusive game content that gamers seek, the computational power and reliability of the devices used to access our content and services, and the ability to create new experiences via online services, downloadable content, and peripherals.

Search Advertising

Search advertising, including Bing and Bing Ads, is designed to deliver relevant online advertising to a global audience. We have several partnerships with other companies, including Yahoo!, in which we provide and monetize search results. Growth depends on our ability to attract new users, understand intent, and match intent with relevant content and advertiser offerings.

Competition

The Windows operating system faces competition from various software products and from alternative platforms and devices, mainly from Apple and Google. We believe Windows competes effectively by giving customers choice, value, flexibility, security, an easy-to-use interface, and compatibility with a broad range of hardware and software applications, including those that enable productivity.

Our devices face competition from various computer, tablet, hardware, and phone manufacturers, and offer a unique combination of high-quality industrial design and innovative technologies across various price points, many of which are also current or potential partners and customers. These manufacturers include Apple, as well as our Windows OEM partners.

Our gaming platform competes with console platforms from Sony and Nintendo, both of which have a large, established base of customers. The lifecycle for gaming and entertainment consoles averages five to ten years. Nintendo released their latest generation console in November 2012. Sony released their latest generation console in November 2013.

In addition to Sony and Nintendo, we compete with other providers of entertainment services through online marketplaces. We believe our gaming platform is effectively positioned against competitive products and services based on significant innovation in hardware architecture, user interface, developer tools, online gaming and entertainment services, and continued strong exclusive content from our own game franchises as well as other digital content offerings. Our video games competitors include Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard. Xbox Live faces competition from various online marketplaces, including those operated by Amazon, Apple, and Google.

Our search advertising business competes with Google and a wide array of websites, social platforms like Facebook, and portals that provide content and online offerings to end users.

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OPERATIONS

We have operations centers that support all operations in their regions, including customer contract and order processing, credit and collections, information processing, and vendor management and logistics. The regional center in Ireland supports the European, Middle Eastern, and African region; the center in Singapore supports the Japan, India, Greater China, and Asia-Pacific region; and the centers in Fargo, North Dakota, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Puerto Rico, Redmond, Washington, and Reno, Nevada support Latin America and North America. In addition to the operations centers, we also operate datacenters throughout the Americas, Australia, Europe, and Asia.

To serve the needs of customers around the world and to improve the quality and usability of products in international markets, we localize many of our products to reflect local languages and conventions. Localizing a product may require modifying the user interface, altering dialog boxes, and translating text.

We operate manufacturing facilities for the production and customization of phones, predominantly in Vietnam. We announced the sale of our entry-level feature phone business in May 2016, which includes the sale of our phone manufacturing facility in Vietnam.

Our devices, other than phones, are primarily manufactured by third-party contract manufacturers. We generally have the ability to use other manufacturers if a current vendor becomes unavailable or unable to meet our requirements.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

During fiscal years 2016, 2015, and 2014, research and development expense was $12.0 billion, $12.0 billion, and $11.4 billion, respectively. These amounts represented 14%, 13%, and 13% of revenue in fiscal years 2016, 2015, and 2014, respectively. We plan to continue to make significant investments in a broad range of research and development efforts.

Product and Service Development, and Intellectual Property

We develop most of our products and services internally through three engineering groups.

Internal development allows us to maintain competitive advantages that come from product differentiation and closer technical control over our products and services. It also gives us the freedom to decide which modifications and enhancements are most important and when they should be implemented. We strive to obtain information as early as possible about changing usage patterns and hardware advances that may affect software design. Before releasing new software platforms, we provide application vendors with a range of resources and guidelines for development, training, and testing. Generally, we also create product documentation internally.

We protect our intellectual property investments in a variety of ways. We work actively in the U.S. and internationally to ensure the enforcement of copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other protections that apply to our software and hardware products, services, business plans, and branding. We are a leader among technology companies in pursuing patents and currently have a portfolio of over 61,000 U.S. and international patents issued and over 35,000

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pending. While we employ much of our internally developed intellectual property exclusively in Microsoft products and services, we also engage in outbound and inbound licensing of specific patented technologies that are incorporated into licensees’ or Microsoft’s products. From time to time, we enter into broader cross-license agreements with other technology companies covering entire groups of patents. We also purchase or license technology that we incorporate into our products or services. At times, we make select intellectual property broadly available at no or low cost to achieve a strategic objective, such as promoting industry standards, advancing interoperability, or attracting and enabling our external development community.

While it may be necessary in the future to seek or renew licenses relating to various aspects of our products and business methods, we believe, based upon past experience and industry practice, such licenses generally could be obtained on commercially reasonable terms. We believe our continuing research and product development are not materially dependent on any single license or other agreement with a third party relating to the development of our products.

Investing in the Future

Microsoft’s success is based on our ability to create new and compelling products, services, and experiences for our users, to initiate and embrace disruptive technology trends, to enter new geographic and product markets, and to drive broad adoption of our products and services. We invest in a range of emerging technology trends and breakthroughs that we believe offer significant opportunities to deliver value to our customers and growth for the company. Based on our assessment of key technology trends, we maintain our long-term commitment to research and development across a wide spectrum of technologies, tools, and platforms spanning digital work and life experiences, cloud computing, and devices operating systems and hardware.

While our main research and development facilities are located in Redmond, Washington, we also operate research and development facilities in other parts of the U.S. and around the world, including Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, and the United Kingdom. This global approach helps us remain competitive in local markets and enables us to continue to attract top talent from across the world. We generally fund research at the corporate level to ensure that we are looking beyond immediate product considerations to opportunities further in the future. We also fund research and development activities at the business segment level. Much of our business segment level research and development is coordinated with other segments and leveraged across the company.

In addition to our main research and development operations, we also operate Microsoft Research. Microsoft Research is one of the world’s largest computer science research organizations, and works in close collaboration with top universities around the world to advance the state-of-the-art in computer science, providing us a unique perspective on future technology trends and contributing to our innovation.

DISTRIBUTION, SALES, AND MARKETING

We market and distribute our products and services through the following channels: OEMs, distributors and resellers, online, and Microsoft retail stores. Our sales force performs a variety of functions, including working directly with enterprises and public sector organizations worldwide to identify and meet their software requirements; managing OEM relationships; and supporting solution integrators, independent software vendors, and other partners who engage directly with our customers to perform sales, consulting, and fulfillment functions for our products.

OEMs

We distribute software through OEMs that pre-install our software on new devices and servers they sell. The largest component of the OEM business is the Windows operating system pre-installed on computing devices. OEMs also sell hardware pre-installed with other Microsoft products, including server and embedded operating systems and applications such as our Microsoft Office suite. In addition to these products, we also market our services through OEMs and service bundles such as Windows with Bing or Windows with Office 365 subscription.

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There are two broad categories of OEMs. The largest OEMs, many of which operate globally, are referred to as “Direct OEMs,” as our relationship with them is managed through a direct agreement between Microsoft and the OEM. We have distribution agreements covering one or more of our products with virtually all of the multinational OEMs, including Acer, ASUST, Dell, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Samsung, Toshiba, and with many regional and local OEMs. The second broad category of OEMs consists of lower-volume PC manufacturers (also called “system builders”), which source their Microsoft software for pre-installation and local redistribution primarily through the Microsoft distributor channel rather than through a direct agreement or relationship with Microsoft.

Distributors and Resellers

Many organizations that license our products and services through Enterprise Agreements transact directly with us, with sales support from solution integrators, independent software vendors, web agencies, and developers that advise organizations on licensing our products and services (“Enterprise Agreement Software Advisors”, or “ESAs”). Organizations also license our products and services indirectly, primarily through licensing solution partners (“LSPs”), distributors, value-added resellers (“VARs”), OEMs, system builder channels, and retailers. Although each type of reselling partner reaches organizations of all sizes, LSPs are primarily engaged with large organizations, distributors resell primarily to VARs, and VARs typically reach small- and medium-sized organizations. ESAs typically are also authorized as LSPs and operate as resellers for our other licensing programs, such as the Select Plus and Open licensing programs discussed under “Licensing Options” below. Some of our distributors include Ingram Micro and Tech Data, and some of our largest resellers include CDW, Dell, Insight Enterprises, and Software House International.

Our Dynamics software offerings are also licensed to enterprises through a global network of channel partners providing vertical solutions and specialized services. We distribute our retail packaged products primarily through independent non-exclusive distributors, authorized replicators, resellers, and retail outlets. Individual consumers obtain these products primarily through retail outlets, including Microsoft retail stores. We distribute our devices through third-party retailers and Microsoft retail stores. Our phones are also distributed through global wireless communications carriers. We have a network of field sales representatives and field support personnel that solicit orders from distributors and resellers, and provide product training and sales support.

Online

Although on-premises software continues to be an important part of our business, increasingly we are delivering additional value to customers through cloud-based services. We provide commercial cloud-based solutions such as Office 365, Azure, and Dynamics CRM Online. We also provide online content services to consumers through Bing, MSN portals and channels, Office 365, Xbox Live, Outlook.com, OneDrive, Skype, and Windows Store. Other services delivered online include our online advertising platform with offerings for advertisers and publishers, as well as Microsoft Developer Network subscription content and updates, periodic product updates, and online technical and practice readiness resources to support our partners in developing and selling our products and solutions. As we increasingly deliver online services, we sell many of these cloud-based services through our enterprise agreements and have also enabled new sales programs to reach small and medium-sized businesses. These programs include direct sales, direct sales supported by a large network of partner advisors, and resale of services through operator channels, such as telephone, cell, and cable providers.

We also sell our products through our Microsoft retail stores and online marketplaces.

LICENSING OPTIONS

We license software to organizations under agreements that allow the customer to acquire multiple licenses of products and services. Our agreements for organizations to acquire multiple licenses of products and services are designed to provide them with a means of doing so without having to acquire separate licenses through retail channels. In delivering organizational licensing agreements to the market, we use different programs designed to provide flexibility for organizations of various sizes. While these programs may differ in various parts of the world, generally they include those discussed below.

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Customer Licensing Programs

Enterprise Agreement Licensing

Designed primarily for medium- and large-sized organizations that want to obtain the best value by standardizing on a common IT platform across their organization. Under the Enterprise Agreement, customers can acquire licenses for online services and/or software products with Software Assurance, which convey rights to future versions of certain software products over the contract period. Software Assurance also provides support, tools, and training to help customers deploy and use software efficiently. Enterprises can elect to acquire perpetual licenses or, under the Enterprise Subscription option, can acquire non-perpetual, subscription licenses for a specified period (generally three years). Online services are also available, and subscriptions are generally structured with three-year terms.

Microsoft Product and Services Agreement Licensing

Suited for medium- and large-sized organizations, the Microsoft Products and Services Agreement (“MPSA”) provides customers the ability to purchase online services subscriptions, software licenses, software licenses with Software Assurance, and renewals of Software Assurance through a single agreement. Software Assurance and online services subscriptions are generally available for a term of up to three years. We plan on expanding the offers under the MPSA in fiscal year 2017 to better enable organizations to obtain the best value by standardizing on a common IT platform across their organization.

Select Plus Licensing

Designed primarily for medium- and large-sized organizations, the Select Plus program allows customers to acquire perpetual licenses and, at the customer’s election, Software Assurance over a specified time period (generally three years or less). Similar to Open programs, the Select Plus program allows customers to acquire licenses only, acquire licenses with Software Assurance, or renew Software Assurance upon the expiration of existing volume licensing agreements. A subset of online services is also available for purchase through the Select Plus program, and subscriptions are generally structured with terms between one and three years.

In July 2014, we announced the retirement over a two-year period of Select Plus agreements for commercial customers, in favor of modern licensing options. Beginning July 2015, no new Select Plus agreements were signed with commercial organizations, and customers who want to purchase licenses were encouraged to transition to the MPSA. Starting in July 2016, we will no longer be accepting orders from commercial organizations for Select Plus after their next agreement anniversary. We expect the entire Select Plus business to transition to the MPSA within a few years.

Open Licensing

Designed primarily for small- and medium-sized organizations, the Open programs allow customers to acquire perpetual or subscription licenses and, at the customer’s election, rights to future versions of software products over a specified time period (generally two or three years depending on the specific programs used). The Open programs have several variations to fit customers’ diverse ways of purchasing. Under the Open License program, customers can acquire licenses only or licenses with Software Assurance, and/or renew Software Assurance upon the expiration of other existing volume licensing agreements. Under the Open Value and Open Value Subscription programs, customers can acquire perpetual or subscription licenses, respectively, over a three-year period. Online services are available in each of the Open programs.

Customer Licensing Programs — Online Services Only

Microsoft Online Subscription Agreement is designed to enable small and medium-sized businesses to easily purchase Microsoft Online Services. The program allows customers to acquire monthly or annual subscriptions for cloud-based services.

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Partner Programs

The Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider program enables partners to directly manage their entire Microsoft cloud customer lifecycle. Partners in this program use dedicated tools to directly provision, manage, and support their customer subscriptions. Partners can easily package their own tools, products, and services, and combine them into one monthly or annual customer bill.

The Microsoft Services Provider License Agreement is a program targeted at service providers and independent software vendors allowing these partners to provide software services and hosted applications to their end customers. Agreements are generally structured with a three-year term, and partners are billed monthly based upon consumption.

The Microsoft Online Services Reseller Agreement is a program that enables partners to package Microsoft online services with the partners’ services.

The Independent Software Vendor Royalty program enables partners to use Microsoft software in their own software programs.

CUSTOMERS

Our customers include individual consumers, small- and medium-sized organizations, large global enterprises, public sector institutions, Internet service providers, application developers, and OEMs. No sales to an individual customer accounted for more than 10% of revenue in fiscal years 2016, 2015, or 2014. Our practice is to ship our products promptly upon receipt of purchase orders from customers; consequently, backlog is not significant.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT

Our executive officers as of July 28, 2016 were as follows:

Mr. Nadella was appointed Chief Executive Officer in February 2014. He served as Executive Vice President, Cloud and Enterprise since July 2013. From 2011 to 2013, Mr. Nadella served as President, Server and Tools. From 2009 to 2011, he was Senior Vice President, Online Services Division. From 2008 to 2009, he was Senior Vice President, Search, Portal, and Advertising. Since joining Microsoft in 1992, Mr. Nadella’s roles also included Vice President of the Business Division.

Mr. Capossela was appointed Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer in March 2014. Previously, he served as the worldwide leader of the Consumer Channels Group, responsible for sales and marketing activities with OEMs, operators, and retail partners. In his more than 20 years at Microsoft, Mr. Capossela has held a variety of marketing leadership roles in the Microsoft Office Division. He was responsible for marketing productivity solutions including Microsoft Office, Office 365, SharePoint, Exchange, Skype for Business, Project, and Visio.

Mr. Courtois was named Executive Vice President and President, Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing and Operations in July 2016. Before that he was President of Microsoft International since June 2005. He had been Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft Europe, Middle East, and Africa since March 2003. Previous to that, he had been Senior Vice

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President and President, Microsoft Europe, Middle East, and Africa since July 2000. Before holding that position, he had been Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Customer Marketing since July 1998. Mr. Courtois joined Microsoft in 1984. He also serves on the Board of Directors of AstraZeneca PLC.

Ms. Hogan was appointed Executive Vice President, Human Resources in November 2014. Prior to that Ms. Hogan was Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Services. She also served as Corporate Vice President of Customer Service and Support. Ms. Hogan joined Microsoft in 2003.

Ms. Hood was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in July 2013, subsequent to her appointment as Chief Financial Officer in May 2013. Beginning in 2010, Ms. Hood was Chief Financial Officer of the Microsoft Business Division. From 2006 through 2009, Ms. Hood was General Manager, Microsoft Business Division Strategy. Since joining Microsoft in 2002, Ms. Hood has also held finance-related positions in the Server and Tools Business and the corporate finance organization.

Ms. Johnson was appointed Executive Vice President, Business Development in September 2014. Prior to that Ms. Johnson spent 24 years at Qualcomm in various leadership positions across engineering, sales, marketing and business development. She most recently served as Executive Vice President of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. Ms. Johnson also serves on the Board of Directors of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.

Mr. Smith was appointed President and Chief Legal Officer in September 2015. Prior to that he served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary since 2011, and served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary from 2001 to 2011. Mr. Smith was also named Chief Compliance Officer in 2002. He had been Deputy General Counsel for Worldwide Sales and previously was responsible for managing the European Law and Corporate Affairs Group, based in Paris. Mr. Smith joined Microsoft in 1993. Mr. Smith also serves on the Board of Directors of Netflix, Inc.

EMPLOYEES

As of June 30, 2016, we employed approximately 114,000 people on a full-time basis, 63,000 in the U.S. and 51,000 internationally. Of the total employed people, 38,000 were in operations, including manufacturing, distribution, product support, and consulting services; 37,000 in product research and development; 29,000 in sales and marketing; and 10,000 in general and administration. Certain employees are subject to collective bargaining agreements.

In June 2015, management approved a restructuring plan that eliminated approximately 7,400 positions in fiscal year 2016, primarily in our phone hardware business.

We periodically evaluate how to best deploy the company’s resources. In the fourth quarter of 2016, management approved restructuring plans that would result in job eliminations, primarily across our smartphone hardware business and global sales. In addition to the elimination of 1,850 positions that were announced in May 2016, approximately 2,850 roles globally will be reduced during the year as an extension of the earlier plan, and these actions are expected to be completed by the end of fiscal year 2017.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

Our Internet address is www.microsoft.com. At our Investor Relations website, www.microsoft.com/investor, we make available free of charge a variety of information for investors. Our goal is to maintain the Investor Relations website as a portal through which investors can easily find or navigate to pertinent information about us, including:

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The information found on our website is not part of this or any other report we file with, or furnish to, the SEC. In addition to these channels, we use social media to communicate to the public. It is possible that the information we post on social media could be deemed to be material to investors. We encourage investors, the media, and others interested in Microsoft to review the information we post on the social media channels listed on our Investor Relations website.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Our operations and financial results are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those described below, that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and the trading price of our common stock.

We face intense competition across all markets for our products and services, which may lead to lower revenue or operating margins.

Competition in the technology sector

Our competitors range in size from diversified global companies with significant research and development resources to small, specialized firms whose narrower product lines may let them be more effective in deploying technical, marketing, and financial resources. Barriers to entry in many of our businesses are low and many of the areas in which we compete evolve rapidly with changing and disruptive technologies, shifting user needs, and frequent introductions of new products and services. Our ability to remain competitive depends on our success in making innovative products, devices, and services that appeal to businesses and consumers.

Competition among platforms, ecosystems, and devices

An important element of our business model has been to create platform-based ecosystems on which many participants can build diverse solutions. A well-established ecosystem creates beneficial network effects among users, application developers, and the platform provider that can accelerate growth. Establishing significant scale in the marketplace is necessary to achieve and maintain attractive margins. We face significant competition from firms that provide competing platforms, applications, and services.

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Business model competition

Companies compete with us based on a growing variety of business models.

The competitive pressures described above may cause decreased sales volumes, price reductions, and/or increased operating costs, such as for research and development, marketing, and sales incentives. This may lead to lower revenue, gross margins, and operating income.

Our increasing focus on services presents execution and competitive risks.    A growing part of our business involves cloud-based services available across the spectrum of computing devices. Our strategic vision is to compete and grow as a productivity and platform company for the mobile-first and cloud-first world. At the same time, our competitors are rapidly developing and deploying cloud-based services for consumers and business customers. Pricing and delivery models are evolving. Devices and form factors influence how users access services in the cloud and sometimes the user’s choice of which suite of cloud-based services to use. We are devoting significant resources to develop and deploy our cloud-based strategies. The Windows ecosystem must continue to evolve with this changing environment. We are undertaking cultural and organizational changes to drive accountability and eliminate obstacles to innovation. The Company’s increasing reliance on data-driven insights is becoming more important to the success of key opportunities in monetization, customer perceptions of quality, and operational efficiency. Besides software development costs, we are incurring costs to build and maintain infrastructure to support cloud computing services. These costs will reduce the operating margins we have previously achieved. Whether we succeed in cloud-based services depends on our execution in several areas, including:

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It is uncertain whether our strategies will attract the users or generate the revenue required to succeed. If we are not effective in executing organizational and technical changes to increase efficiency and accelerate innovation, or if we fail to generate sufficient usage of our new products and services, we may not grow revenue in line with the infrastructure and development investments described above. This may negatively impact gross margins and operating income.

We make significant investments in new products and services that may not achieve expected returns.    We will continue to make significant investments in research, development, and marketing for existing products, services, and technologies, including the Windows operating system, the Microsoft Office system, Bing, Windows Phone, Windows Server, the Windows Store, the Microsoft Azure Services platform, Office 365, other cloud-based offerings, and the Xbox entertainment platform. We also invest in the development and acquisition of a variety of hardware for productivity, communication, and entertainment including PCs, tablets, phones, and gaming devices. Investments in new technology are speculative. Commercial success depends on many factors, including innovativeness, developer support, and effective distribution and marketing. If customers do not perceive our latest offerings as providing significant new functionality or other value, they may reduce their purchases of new software and hardware products or upgrades, unfavorably affecting revenue. We may not achieve significant revenue from new product, service, and distribution channel investments for several years, if at all. New products and services may not be profitable, and even if they are profitable, operating margins for some new products and businesses will not be as high as the margins we have experienced historically.

The launch of Windows 10, with free upgrades available to existing users of Windows 7 and 8.1, constitutes the most ambitious update effort we have ever undertaken. We have done extensive preparation and compatibility testing for applications and devices to help ensure a positive experience for our users installing Windows 10. However, if users have a negative upgrade experience, or the community reacts negatively to the process we are following to promote and undertake the upgrades, the reception of Windows 10 in the marketplace may be harmed, and customers or government agencies may bring litigation or regulatory actions. In addition, we anticipate that Windows 10 will enable new post-license monetization opportunities beyond initial license revenues. Our failure to realize these opportunities to the extent we expect could have an adverse impact on our revenues. Finally, our practices around data collection, use, and management in Windows 10 could result in regulatory review and decisions directing us to change these practices and imposing fines. If so, we could face negative public reaction, degraded user experiences, and reduced flexibility in product design.

Developing new technologies is complex. It can require long development and testing periods. Significant delays in new releases or significant problems in creating new products or services could adversely affect our revenue.

Acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances may have an adverse effect on our business.    We expect to continue making acquisitions and entering into joint ventures and strategic alliances as part of our long-term business strategy. In June 2016, we announced our acquisition of LinkedIn for approximately $26.2 billion. The LinkedIn acquisition and other transactions and arrangements involve significant challenges and risks, including that they do not advance our business strategy, that we get an unsatisfactory return on our investment, that we have difficulty integrating new employees, business systems, and technology, or that they distract management from our other businesses. If an arrangement fails to adequately anticipate changing circumstances and interests of a party, it may result in early termination or renegotiation of the arrangement. The success of these transactions and arrangements will depend in part on our ability to leverage them to enhance our existing products and services or develop compelling new ones. It may take longer than expected to realize the full benefits from these transactions and arrangements, such as increased revenue, enhanced efficiencies, or increased market share, or the benefits may ultimately be smaller than we expected. These events could adversely affect our operating results or financial condition.

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If our goodwill or amortizable intangible assets become impaired, we may be required to record a significant charge to earnings.    We acquire other companies and intangible assets and may not realize all the economic benefit from those acquisitions, which could cause an impairment of goodwill or intangibles. We review our amortizable intangible assets for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. We test goodwill for impairment at least annually. Factors that may be a change in circumstances, indicating that the carrying value of our goodwill or amortizable intangible assets may not be recoverable, include a decline in our stock price and market capitalization, reduced future cash flow estimates, and slower growth rates in industry segments in which we participate. We may be required to record a significant charge on our consolidated financial statements during the period in which any impairment of our goodwill or amortizable intangible assets is determined, negatively affecting our results of operations. For example, in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2015, we recorded a $5.1 billion charge for the impairment of goodwill and a $2.2 billion charge for the impairment of intangible assets, and in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2016 we recorded a $480 million charge for the impairment of intangible assets. The impairment charges for both periods related to our phone business. Our acquisition of LinkedIn will result in a significant increase in our goodwill and intangible asset balances.

We may not earn the revenues we expect from our intellectual property rights.

We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property rights

Protecting our global intellectual property rights and combating unlicensed copying and use of our software and other intellectual property is difficult. While piracy adversely affects U.S. revenue, the impact on revenue from outside the U.S. is more significant, particularly in countries where laws are less protective of intellectual property rights. Our revenue in these markets may grow slower than the underlying device market. Similarly, the absence of harmonized patent laws makes it more difficult to ensure consistent respect for patent rights. Throughout the world, we educate consumers about the benefits of licensing genuine products and obtaining indemnification benefits for intellectual property risks, and we educate lawmakers about the advantages of a business climate where intellectual property rights are protected. Reductions in the legal protection for software intellectual property rights could adversely affect revenue.

We may not receive expected royalties from our patent licenses

We expend significant resources to patent the intellectual property we create with the expectation that we will generate revenues by incorporating that intellectual property in our products or services or, in some instances, by licensing our patents to others in return for a royalty. Changes in the law may weaken our ability to prevent the use of patented technology or collect revenue for licensing our patents. These include legislative changes and regulatory actions that make it more difficult to obtain injunctions, and the increasing use of legal process to challenge issued patents. Similarly, licensees of our patents may fail to satisfy their obligations to pay us royalties, or may contest the scope and extent of their obligations. Finally, the royalties we can obtain to monetize our intellectual property may decline because of the evolution of technology, selling price changes in products using licensed patents, or the difficulty of discovering infringements.

Third parties may claim we infringe their intellectual property rights.    From time to time, others claim we infringe their intellectual property rights. The number of these claims may grow because of constant technological change in the markets in which we compete, the extensive patent coverage of existing technologies, the rapid rate of issuance of new patents, and our offering of first-party devices, such as Surface and Lumia phones. To resolve these claims, we may enter into royalty and licensing agreements on terms that are less favorable than currently available, stop selling or redesign affected products or services, or pay damages to satisfy indemnification commitments with our customers. These outcomes may cause operating margins to decline. Besides money damages, in some jurisdictions plaintiffs can seek injunctive relief that may limit or prevent importing, marketing, and selling our products or services that have infringing technologies. In some countries, such as Germany, an injunction can be issued before the parties have fully litigated the validity of the underlying patents. We have paid significant amounts to settle claims related to the use of technology and intellectual property rights and to procure intellectual property rights as part of our strategy to manage this risk, and may continue to do so.

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We may not be able to protect our source code from copying if there is an unauthorized disclosure of source code.    Source code, the detailed program commands for our operating systems and other software programs, is critical to our business. Although we license portions of our application and operating system source code to several licensees, we take significant measures to protect the secrecy of large portions of our source code. If a significant portion of our source code leaks, we might lose future trade secret protection for that source code. It may become easier for third parties to compete with our products by copying functionality, which could adversely affect our revenue and operating margins. Unauthorized disclosure of source code also could increase the security risks described in the next paragraph.

Cyber-attacks and security vulnerabilities could lead to reduced revenue, increased costs, liability claims, or harm to our competitive position.

Security of Microsoft’s information technology

Threats to IT security can take a variety of forms. Individual and groups of hackers, and sophisticated organizations including state-sponsored organizations or nation-states themselves, may take steps that pose threats to our customers and our IT. These actors may use a wide variety of methods, which may include developing and deploying malicious software to attack our products and services and gain access to our networks and datacenters, using social engineering techniques, or acting in a coordinated manner to launch distributed denial of service or other coordinated attacks. Cyber threats are constantly evolving, thereby increasing the difficulty of detecting and successfully defending against them. Cyber threats can have cascading impacts that unfold with increasing speed across our internal networks and systems and those of our partners and customers. Breaches of our network or data security could disrupt the security of our internal systems and business applications, impair our ability to provide services to our customers and protect the privacy of their data, result in product development delays, compromise confidential or technical business information harming our competitive position, result in theft or misuse of our intellectual property or other assets, require us to allocate more resources to improved technologies, or otherwise adversely affect our business.

In addition, our internal IT environment continues to evolve. Often we are early adopters of new devices and technologies. We embrace new ways of sharing data and communicating internally and with partners and customers using methods such as social networking and other consumer-oriented technologies. Our business policies and internal security controls may not keep pace with these changes as new threats emerge.

Security of our products, services, devices, and customers’ data

Security threats are a particular challenge to companies like us whose business is technology products and services. Threats to our own IT infrastructure can also affect our customers. Customers using our cloud-based services rely on the security of our infrastructure to ensure the reliability of our services and the protection of their data. Hackers tend to focus their efforts on the most popular operating systems, programs, and services, including many of ours, and we expect that to continue. The security of our products and services is important in our customers’ purchasing decisions.

To defend against security threats, both to our internal IT systems and those of our customers, we must continuously engineer more secure products and services, enhance security and reliability features, improve the deployment of software updates to address security vulnerabilities, develop mitigation technologies that help to secure customers from attacks even when software updates are not deployed, maintain the digital security infrastructure that protects the integrity of our network, products, and services, and provide customers security tools such as firewalls and anti-virus software.

The cost of these steps could reduce our operating margins. If we fail to do these things well, actual or perceived security vulnerabilities in our products and services could harm our reputation and lead customers to reduce or delay future purchases of products or subscriptions to services, or to use competing products or services. Customers may also spend more on protecting their existing computer systems from attack, which could delay adoption of additional

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products or services. Customers may fail to update their systems, continue to run software or operating systems we no longer support, or may fail timely to install security patches. Any of these actions by customers could adversely affect our revenue. Actual or perceived vulnerabilities may lead to claims against us. Although our license agreements typically contain provisions that eliminate or limit our exposure to liability, there is no assurance these provisions will withstand legal challenges. Legislative or regulatory action in these areas may increase the costs to develop, implement, or secure our products and services.

Disclosure of personal data could cause liability and harm our reputation.    As we continue to grow the number and scale of our cloud-based offerings, we store and process increasingly large amounts of personally identifiable information of our customers. The continued occurrence of high-profile data breaches provides evidence of an external environment increasingly hostile to information security. Despite our efforts to improve the security controls across our business groups and geographies, it is possible our security controls over personal data, our training of employees and vendors on data security, and other practices we follow may not prevent the improper disclosure of customer data we or our vendors store and manage. Improper disclosure could harm our reputation, lead to legal exposure to customers, or subject us to liability under laws that protect personal data, resulting in increased costs or loss of revenue. Our software products and services also enable our customers to store and process personal data on-premises or, increasingly, in a cloud-based environment we host. Government authorities can sometimes require us to produce customer data in response to valid legal orders. In the U.S. and elsewhere, we advocate for transparency concerning these requests and appropriate limitations on government authority to compel disclosure. Despite our efforts to protect customer data, perceptions that the collection, use and retention of personal information is not satisfactorily protected could inhibit sales of our products or services, and could limit adoption of our cloud-based solutions by consumers, businesses, and government entities. Additional security measures we may take to address customer concerns, or constraints on our flexibility to determine where and how to operate datacenters in response to customer expectations or governmental rules or actions, may cause higher operating expenses.

We may have outages, data losses, and disruptions of our online services if we fail to maintain an adequate operations infrastructure.    Our increasing user traffic, growth in services, and the complexity of our products and services demand more computing power. We spend substantial amounts to build, purchase, or lease datacenters and equipment and to upgrade our technology and network infrastructure to handle more traffic on our websites and in our datacenters. These demands continue to increase as we introduce new products and services and support the growth of existing services such as Bing, Exchange Online, Office 365, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, Skype, Xbox Live, Microsoft Azure, Outlook.com, Windows Stores, and Microsoft Account services. We are rapidly growing our business of providing a platform and back-end hosting for services provided by third parties to their end users. Maintaining, securing, and expanding this infrastructure is expensive and complex. It requires that we maintain an Internet connectivity infrastructure that is robust and reliable within competitive and regulatory constraints that continue to evolve. Inefficiencies or operational failures, including temporary or permanent loss of customer data or insufficient Internet connectivity, could diminish the quality of our products, services, and user experience resulting in contractual liability, claims by customers and other third parties, damage to our reputation and loss of current and potential users, subscribers, and advertisers, each of which may harm our operating results and financial condition.

Government litigation and regulatory activity relating to competition rules may limit how we design and market our products.    As a leading global software and device maker, we are closely scrutinized by government agencies under U.S. and foreign competition laws. An increasing number of governments are regulating competition law activities and this includes increased scrutiny in potentially large markets such as the European Union (“EU”), the U.S., and China. Some jurisdictions also allow competitors or consumers to assert claims of anti-competitive conduct. U.S. federal and state antitrust authorities have previously brought enforcement actions and continue to scrutinize our business.

The European Commission (“the Commission”) closely scrutinizes the design of high-volume Microsoft products and the terms on which we make certain technologies used in these products, such as file formats, programming interfaces, and protocols, available to other companies. Flagship product releases such as Windows 10 can receive significant scrutiny under competition laws. For example, in 2004, the Commission ordered us to create new versions of our Windows operating system that do not include certain multimedia technologies and to provide our

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competitors with specifications for how to implement certain proprietary Windows communications protocols in their own products. In 2009, the Commission accepted a set of commitments offered by Microsoft to address the Commission’s concerns relating to competition in web browsing software, including an undertaking to address Commission concerns relating to interoperability. The web browsing commitments expired in 2014. The remaining obligations may limit our ability to innovate in Windows or other products in the future, diminish the developer appeal of the Windows platform, and increase our product development costs. The availability of licenses related to protocols and file formats may enable competitors to develop software products that better mimic the functionality of our products, which could hamper sales of our products.

Our portfolio of first-party devices continues to grow; at the same time our OEM partners offer a large variety of devices on our platforms. As a result, increasingly we both cooperate and compete with our OEM partners, creating a risk that we fail to do so in compliance with competition rules. Regulatory scrutiny in this area may increase. Certain foreign governments, particularly in China and other countries in Asia, have advanced arguments under their competition laws that exert downward pressure on royalties for our intellectual property. Because these jurisdictions only recently implemented competition laws, their enforcement activities are unpredictable.

Government regulatory actions and court decisions such as these may hinder our ability to provide the benefits of our software to consumers and businesses, reducing the attractiveness of our products and the revenue that come from them. New competition law actions could be initiated. The outcome of such actions, or steps taken to avoid them, could adversely affect us in a variety of ways, including:

Our global operations subject us to potential liability under anti-corruption, trade protection, and other laws and regulations.    The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-corruption laws and regulations (“Anti-Corruption Laws”) prohibit corrupt payments by our employees, vendors, or agents. From time to time, we receive inquiries from authorities in the U.S. and elsewhere and reports from employees and others about our business activities outside the U.S. and our compliance with Anti-Corruption Laws. Specifically, we have been cooperating with authorities in the US in connection with reports concerning our compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in various countries. While we devote substantial resources to our global compliance programs and have implemented policies, training, and internal controls designed to reduce the risk of corrupt payments, our employees, vendors, or agents may violate our policies. Our failure to comply with Anti-Corruption Laws could result in significant fines and penalties, criminal sanctions against us, our officers, or our employees, prohibitions on the conduct of our business, and damage to our reputation. Geopolitical instability may lead to sanctions and impact our ability to do business in some geographies. Operations outside the U.S. may be affected by changes in trade protection laws, policies, and measures, sanctions, and other regulatory requirements affecting trade and investment. We may be subject to legal liability and reputational damage if we sell goods or services in violation of U.S. trade sanctions on countries such as Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Sudan, and Syria.

Other regulatory areas that may apply to our products and online services offerings include user privacy, telecommunications, data storage and protection, and online content. For example, regulators may take the position that our offerings such as Skype are covered by laws regulating telecommunications services. Applying these laws and regulations to our business is often unclear, subject to change over time, and sometimes may conflict from

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jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Additionally, these laws and governments’ approach to their enforcement, and our products and services, are continuing to evolve. Compliance with these types of regulation may involve significant costs or require changes in products or business practices that result in reduced revenue. Noncompliance could result in the imposition of penalties or orders we stop the alleged noncompliant activity.

Laws and regulations relating to the handling of personal data may impede the adoption of our services or result in increased costs, legal claims, or fines against us.    The growth of our internet- and cloud-based services internationally relies increasingly on the movement of data across national boundaries. Legal requirements relating to the collection, storage, handling, and transfer of personal data continue to evolve. For example, in October 2015 the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) invalidated the EU/U.S. safe harbor framework, in place since 2000, that enabled companies to transfer data from EU member states to the U.S. Although other legally-recognized methods to enable data transfers currently remain valid, the reasoning of the ECJ striking down the safe harbor framework could be used to challenge those methods in future complaints. There is a recognized need for a new regulatory safe harbor framework that will also support other methods of data transfer between the EU and U.S. Outcomes may include a new trans-Atlantic data transfer agreement, a new EU data protection directive, or a range of legal requirements adopted by individual EU member states, or no action at all. One or more of these outcomes may result in burdensome or inconsistent requirements affecting the location and movement of our customer and internal employee data as well as the management of that data. Compliance may require changes in services, business practices, or internal systems that result in increased costs, lower revenue, reduced efficiency, or greater difficulty in competing with foreign-based firms. Failure to comply with existing or new rules may result in significant penalties or orders to stop the alleged noncompliant activity.

Our business depends on our ability to attract and retain talented employees.    Our business is based on successfully attracting and retaining talented employees. The market for highly skilled workers and leaders in our industry is extremely competitive. We are limited in our ability to recruit internationally by restrictive domestic immigration laws. If we are less successful in our recruiting efforts, or if we cannot retain key employees, our ability to develop and deliver successful products and services may be adversely affected. Effective succession planning is also important to our long-term success. Failure to ensure effective transfer of knowledge and smooth transitions involving key employees could hinder our strategic planning and execution. How employment-related laws are interpreted and applied to our workforce practices may result in increased operating costs and less flexibility in how we meet our workforce needs.

We have claims and lawsuits against us that may result in adverse outcomes.    We are subject to a variety of claims and lawsuits. These claims may arise from a wide variety of business practices and initiatives, including major new product releases such as Windows 10, significant business transactions, and employment practices. Adverse outcomes in some or all of these claims may result in significant monetary damages or injunctive relief that could adversely affect our ability to conduct our business. The litigation and other claims are subject to inherent uncertainties and management’s view of these matters may change in the future. A material adverse impact on our consolidated financial statements could occur for the period in which the effect of an unfavorable final outcome becomes probable and reasonably estimable.

We may have additional tax liabilities.    We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and many foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes. In the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. We regularly are under audit by tax authorities in different jurisdictions. Economic and political pressures to increase tax revenue in various jurisdictions may make resolving tax disputes favorably more difficult. Although we believe our tax estimates are reasonable, the final determination of tax audits and any related litigation in the jurisdictions where we are subject to taxation could be materially different from our historical income tax provisions and accruals. The results of an audit or litigation could have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements in the period or periods in which that determination is made.

We earn a significant amount of our operating income from outside the U.S., and any repatriation of funds currently held in foreign jurisdictions to the U.S. may result in higher effective tax rates for the company. In addition, there have been proposals from Congress to change U.S. tax laws that would significantly impact how U.S. multinational corporations are taxed on foreign earnings. Although we cannot predict whether or in what form any proposed legislation may pass, if enacted, it could have a material adverse impact on our tax expense and cash flows.

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Our hardware and software products may experience quality or supply problems.    Our vertically-integrated hardware products such as Xbox consoles, Surface devices, phones, and other devices we design, manufacture, and market are highly complex and can have defects in design, manufacture, or associated software. We could incur significant expenses, lost revenue, and reputational harm if we fail to detect or address such issues through design, testing, or warranty repairs. We acquire some device components from sole suppliers. Our competitors use some of the same suppliers and their demand for hardware components can affect the capacity available to us. If a component from a sole-source supplier is delayed or becomes unavailable, whether because of supplier capacity constraint or industry shortages, we may not obtain timely replacement supplies, resulting in reduced sales. Component shortages, excess or obsolete inventory, or price reductions resulting in inventory adjustments may increase our cost of revenue. Xbox consoles, Surface devices, phones, and other hardware are assembled in Asia and other geographies that may be subject to disruptions in the supply chain, resulting in shortages that would affect our revenue and operating margins. These same risks would apply to any other vertically-integrated hardware and software products we may offer.

Our software products also may experience quality or reliability problems. The highly sophisticated software products we develop may contain bugs and other defects that interfere with their intended operation. Any defects we do not detect and fix in pre-release testing could cause reduced sales and revenue, damage to our reputation, repair or remediation costs, delays in the release of new products or versions, or legal liability. Although our license agreements typically contain provisions that eliminate or limit our exposure to liability, there is no assurance these provisions will withstand legal challenge.

We strive to empower all people and organizations to achieve more and accessibility of our products is an important aspect of this goal. There is increasing pressure from advocacy groups, regulators, competitors, and customers to make technology more accessible. If our products do not meet customer expectations or emerging global accessibility requirements, we could lose sales opportunities or face regulatory actions.

Our global business exposes us to operational and economic risks.    Our customers are located in over 200 countries and a significant part of our revenue comes from international sales. The global nature of our business creates operational and economic risks. Emerging markets are a significant focus of our international growth strategy. The developing nature of these markets presents several risks, including deterioration of social, political, labor, or economic conditions in a country or region, and difficulties in staffing and managing foreign operations. Although we hedge a portion of our international currency exposure, significant fluctuations in foreign exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies may adversely affect our revenue. Competitive or regulatory pressure to make our pricing structure uniform might require that we reduce the sales price of our software in the U.S. and other countries.

Catastrophic events or geopolitical conditions may disrupt our business.    A disruption or failure of our systems or operations because of a major earthquake, weather event, cyber-attack, terrorist attack, or other catastrophic event could cause delays in completing sales, providing services, or performing other critical functions. Our corporate headquarters, a significant portion of our research and development activities, and certain other essential business operations are in the Seattle, Washington area, and we have other business operations in the Silicon Valley area of California, both of which are seismically active regions. A catastrophic event that results in the destruction or disruption of any of our critical business or IT systems could harm our ability to conduct normal business operations. Providing our customers with more services and solutions in the cloud puts a premium on the resilience of our systems and strength of our business continuity management plans, and magnifies the potential impact of prolonged service outages on our operating results.

Abrupt political change, terrorist activity, and armed conflict pose a risk of general economic disruption in affected countries, which may increase our operating costs. These conditions also may add uncertainty to the timing and budget for technology investment decisions by our customers, and may cause supply chain disruptions for hardware manufacturers, either of which may adversely affect our revenue. The long-term effects of climate change on the global economy or the IT industry in particular are unclear. Environmental regulations or changes in the supply, demand or available sources of energy or other natural resources may affect the availability or cost of goods and services, including natural resources, necessary to run our business. Changes in weather where we operate may increase the costs of powering and cooling computer hardware we use to develop software and provide cloud-based services.

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Adverse economic or market conditions may harm our business.    Worsening economic conditions, including inflation, recession, or other changes in economic conditions, may cause lower IT spending and adversely affect our revenue. If demand for PCs, servers, and other computing devices declines, or consumer or business spending for those products declines, our revenue will be adversely affected. Substantial revenue comes from our U.S. government contracts. An extended federal government shutdown resulting from failing to pass budget appropriations, adopt continuing funding resolutions or raise the debt ceiling, and other budgetary decisions limiting or delaying federal government spending, could reduce government IT spending on our products and services and adversely affect our revenue.

Our product distribution system relies on an extensive partner and retail network. OEMs building devices that run our software have also been a significant means of distribution. The impact of economic conditions on our partners, such as the bankruptcy of a major distributor, OEM, or retailer, could cause sales channel disruption.

Challenging economic conditions also may impair the ability of our customers to pay for products and services they have purchased. As a result, allowances for doubtful accounts and write-offs of accounts receivable may increase.

We maintain an investment portfolio of various holdings, types, and maturities. These investments are subject to general credit, liquidity, market, and interest rate risks, which may be exacerbated by unusual events that affect global financial markets. A significant part of our investment portfolio comprises U.S. government securities. If global credit and equity markets decline for long periods, or if there is a downgrade of the U.S. government credit rating due to an actual or threatened default on government debt, our investment portfolio may be adversely affected and we could determine that more of our investments have experienced an other-than-temporary decline in fair value, requiring impairment charges that could adversely affect our financial results.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

We have received no written comments regarding our periodic or current reports from the staff of the SEC that were issued 180 days or more preceding the end of our fiscal year 2016 that remain unresolved.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

Our corporate headquarters are located in Redmond, Washington. We have approximately 15 million square feet of space located in King County, Washington that is used for engineering, sales, marketing, and operations, among other general and administrative purposes. These facilities include approximately 10 million square feet of owned space situated on approximately 500 acres of land we own at our corporate headquarters, and approximately five million square feet of space we lease. In addition, we own and lease space domestically that includes office, retail, and datacenter space.

We also own and lease facilities internationally. Properties that we own include: our research and development centers in China and India; our operations in Ireland and Singapore; our phone manufacturing facilities, predominantly in Vietnam; and our facilities in the United Kingdom. The largest leased office spaces include the following locations: Finland, China, India, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan. In addition to the above locations, we have various product development facilities, both domestically and internationally, as described in the “Research and Development” section of Item 1 of this Form 10-K.

The table below shows a summary of facilities owned and leased domestically and internationally as of June 30, 2016:

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

While not material to the Company, the Company makes the following annual report of the general activities of the Company’s Antitrust Compliance Office as required by the Final Order and Judgment inBarovic v. Ballmer et al,United States District Court for the Western District of Washington (“Final Order”). For more information see http://aka.ms/MSLegalNotice2015. These annual reports will continue through 2020. During fiscal year 2016, the Antitrust Compliance Office (a) monitored the Company’s compliance with the European Commission Decision of March 24, 2004, (“2004 Decision”) and with the Company’s Public Undertaking to the European Commission dated December 16, 2009 (“2009 Undertaking”); (b) monitored, in the manner required by the Final Order, employee, customer, competitor, regulator, or other third-party complaints regarding compliance with the 2004 Decision, the 2009 Undertaking, or other EU or U.S. laws or regulations governing tying, bundling, and exclusive dealing contracts; and, (c) monitored, in the manner required by the Final Order, the training of the Company’s employees regarding the Company’s antitrust compliance polices. In addition, the Antitrust Compliance Officer reports to the Regulatory and Public Policy Committee of the Board at each of its regularly scheduled meetings and to the full Board annually.

See Note 17 – Contingencies of the Notes to Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K) for information regarding legal proceedings in which we are involved.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS, AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

MARKET AND STOCKHOLDERS

Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol MSFT. On July 25, 2016, there were 106,534 registered holders of record of our common stock. The high and low common stock sales prices per share were as follows:

DIVIDENDS AND SHARE REPURCHASES

See Note 18 – Stockholders’ Equity of the Notes to Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K) for information regarding dividends and share repurchases by quarter. Following are our monthly stock repurchases for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2016, all of which were made as part of publicly announced plans or programs:

All repurchases were made using cash resources. Our stock repurchases may occur through open market purchases or pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) is intended to help the reader understand the results of operations and financial condition of Microsoft Corporation. MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, our financial statements and the accompanying Notes to Financial Statements.

OVERVIEW

Microsoft is a technology company whose mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our strategy is to build best-in-class platforms and productivity services for a mobile-first, cloud-first world. We develop, license, and support a wide range of software products, services, and devices that deliver new opportunities, greater convenience, and enhanced value to people’s lives.

We generate revenue by licensing and supporting an array of software products, by offering a wide range of services, including cloud-based services to consumers and businesses, by designing, manufacturing, and selling devices that integrate with our cloud-based services, and by delivering relevant online advertising to a global audience. Our most significant expenses are related to compensating employees; designing, manufacturing, marketing, and selling our products and services; datacenter costs in support of our cloud-based services; and income taxes.

Much of our focus in fiscal year 2016 was toward transforming our organization to support our strategy of building best-in-class platforms and productivity services for a mobile-first, cloud-first world. We achieved product development milestones, implemented organizational changes, and made strategic and tactical moves to support the three central ambitions that support our strategy: reinventing productivity and business processes; building the intelligent cloud platform; and creating more personal computing.

Highlights from fiscal year 2016 included:

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In June 2016, we entered into a definitive agreement to acquire LinkedIn for $196 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $26.2 billion, inclusive of LinkedIn’s net cash (the “Merger Agreement”). We will finance the transaction primarily through the issuance of new indebtedness. The Merger Agreement has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both Microsoft and LinkedIn, and we expect the acquisition will close in calendar year 2016, subject to approval by LinkedIn’s shareholders, satisfaction of certain regulatory approvals, and other customary closing conditions. The acquisition is anticipated to accelerate the growth of LinkedIn, as well as Office 365 and Dynamics.

In May 2016, we announced the sale of our entry-level feature phone business for $350 million. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2016, subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

In July 2015, we announced a plan to restructure our phone business to better focus and align resources. In May 2016, we announced plans to further streamline our smartphone hardware business. These changes in the phone business reinforce our strategy to create a vibrant Windows ecosystem with a single set of experiences across our first-party device family and original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) offerings. Part of this strategy involves focusing our phone devices on a narrower range of customer categories and differentiating through the combination of hardware and software we are uniquely positioned to offer. As anticipated, our change in phone strategy resulted in a reduction in units sold and associated expenses in fiscal year 2016, and this trend is expected to continue in fiscal year 2017.

Industry Trends

Our industry is dynamic and highly competitive, with frequent changes in both technologies and business models. Each industry shift is an opportunity to conceive new products, new technologies, or new ideas that can further transform the industry and our business. At Microsoft, we push the boundaries of what is possible through a broad range of research and development activities that seek to identify and address the changing demands of customers and users, industry trends, and competitive forces.

Economic Conditions, Challenges, and Risks

The market for software, devices, and cloud-based services is dynamic and highly competitive. Our competitors are developing new software and devices, while also deploying competing cloud-based services for consumers and businesses. The devices and form factors customers prefer evolve rapidly, and influence how users access services in the cloud, and in some cases, the user’s choice of which suite of cloud-based services to use. We must continue to evolve and adapt over an extended time in pace with this changing environment. The investments we are making in devices and infrastructure will continue to increase our operating costs and may decrease our operating margins.

Our success is highly dependent on our ability to attract and retain qualified employees. We hire a mix of university and industry talent worldwide. Microsoft competes for talented individuals globally by offering an exceptional working environment, broad customer reach, scale in resources, the ability to grow one’s career across many different products and businesses, and competitive compensation and benefits. Aggregate demand for our software, services, and devices is correlated to global macroeconomic and geopolitical factors, which remain dynamic.

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Our international operations provide a significant portion of our total revenue and expenses. Many of these revenue and expenses are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. As a result, changes in foreign exchange rates may significantly affect revenue and expenses. The strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to certain foreign currencies throughout fiscal year 2015, and continuing into fiscal year 2016, negatively impacted reported revenue and reduced reported expenses from our international operations.

See a discussion of these factors and other risks under Risk Factors (Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K).

Seasonality

Our revenue historically has fluctuated quarterly and has generally been highest in the second quarter of our fiscal year due to corporate calendar year-end spending trends in our major markets and holiday season spending by consumers.

Unearned Revenue

Quarterly and annual revenue is impacted by the deferral of revenue, primarily including:

If our customers choose to license cloud-based versions of our products and services rather than licensing transaction-based products and services, the associated revenue will shift from being recognized at the time of the transaction to being recognized over the subscription period or upon consumption, as applicable.

Product Revenue and Service and Other Revenue

Due to the growth in our cloud-based solutions, service revenue exceeded 10% of total revenue for the first time in fiscal year 2016. As a result, we have separately disclosed product revenue and service and other revenue on our consolidated income statements.

Product revenue includes sales from operating systems; cross-device productivity applications; server applications; business solution applications; desktop and server management tools; software development tools; video games; hardware such as PCs, tablets, gaming and entertainment consoles, phones, other intelligent devices, and related accessories; and training and certification of computer system integrators and developers.

Service and other revenue includes sales from cloud-based solutions that provide customers with software, services, platforms, and content such as Office 365, Azure, Dynamics CRM Online, and Xbox Live; solution support; and consulting services. Service and other revenue also includes sales from online advertising.

Reportable Segments

The segment amounts included in MD&A are presented on a basis consistent with our internal management reporting. Segment information appearing in Note 21 – Segment Information and Geographic Data of the Notes to Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K) is also presented on this basis. All differences between our internal management reporting basis and accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”), along with certain corporate-level and other activity, are included in Corporate and Other.

In June 2015, we announced a change in organizational structure to align to our strategic direction as a productivity and platform company. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2016, our chief operating decision maker, who is also our Chief Executive Officer, requested changes in the information that he regularly reviews for purposes of allocating resources and assessing performance. As a result, beginning in fiscal year 2016, we report our financial performance based on our new segments, Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing, and analyze operating income as the measure of segment profitability. We have recast certain previously reported amounts to conform to the way we internally manage and monitor segment performance.

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We expect to report the financial performance of LinkedIn as part of our Productivity and Business Processes segment.

Additional information on our reportable segments is contained in Note 21 – Segment Information and Geographic Data of the Notes to Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K).

SUMMARY RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Fiscal year 2016 compared with fiscal year 2015

Revenue decreased $8.3 billion or 9%, primarily due to the impact of the net revenue deferral from Windows 10 of $6.6 billion and an unfavorable foreign currency impact of approximately $3.8 billion or 4%. Windows 10 revenue is primarily recognized at the time of billing in the More Personal Computing segment, and the deferral and subsequent recognition of revenue is reflected in Corporate and Other. More Personal Computing revenue decreased, mainly due to lower revenue from Devices and Windows, offset in part by higher revenue from search advertising and Gaming. Intelligent Cloud revenue increased, primarily due to higher revenue from server products and cloud services and Enterprise Services. Productivity and Business Processes revenue increased slightly, driven by an increase in Office and Dynamics revenue.

Operating income increased $2.0 billion or 11%, primarily due to a decrease in impairment, integration, and restructuring expenses and sales and marketing expenses, offset in part by lower gross margin. Gross margin decreased $8.0 billion or 13%, driven by the decline in revenue as discussed above, and included an unfavorable foreign currency impact of approximately $3.3 billion or 5%. Productivity and Business Processes and More Personal Computing gross margin decreased, offset in part by higher gross margin from Intelligent Cloud.

Key changes in expenses were:

Diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) was $2.10 for fiscal year 2016. Current year diluted EPS was negatively impacted by the net revenue deferral from Windows 10 and impairment, integration, and restructuring expenses, which resulted in a decrease to diluted EPS of $0.69, and favorably impacted by the adoption of new accounting guidance related to stock-based compensation, which resulted in an increase to diluted EPS of $0.05. Diluted EPS was $1.48 for fiscal year 2015. Prior year diluted EPS was negatively impacted by impairment, integration, and restructuring expenses, which resulted in a decrease to diluted EPS of $1.15.

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Fiscal year 2015 compared with fiscal year 2014

Revenue increased $6.7 billion or 8%, primarily due to higher revenue from More Personal Computing and Intelligent Cloud. More Personal Computing revenue increased, primarily due to higher revenue from Devices, search advertising and Gaming, offset in part by a decline in Windows revenue. Intelligent Cloud revenue increased, primarily due to higher revenue from server products and cloud services. Revenue included an unfavorable foreign currency impact of approximately 2%.

Operating income decreased $9.6 billion or 35%, primarily due to impairment, integration, and restructuring expenses in fiscal year 2015, as well as increased research and development expenses, offset in part by higher gross margin. Gross margin increased $787 million or 1%, driven by our Intelligent Cloud, offset in part by a reduction in gross margin from Productivity and Business Processes. Key changes in expenses were:

Diluted EPS was $1.48 for fiscal year 2015. Diluted EPS was negatively impacted by impairment, integration, and restructuring expenses, which decreased diluted EPS by $1.15.

SEGMENT RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

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Reportable Segments

Fiscal year 2016 compared with fiscal year 2015

Productivity and Business Processes

Productivity and Business Processes revenue increased slightly, primarily due to an increase in Office and Dynamics revenue. Revenue included an unfavorable foreign currency impact of approximately 6%.

Productivity and Business Processes operating income decreased $898 million or 7%, driven by lower gross margin. Gross margin decreased $970 million or 4%, primarily due to higher cost of revenue. Gross margin included an unfavorable foreign currency impact of approximately 6%. Cost of revenue increased $1.0 billion or 26%, primarily due to an increased mix of cloud offerings. Operating expenses decreased $72 million or 1%, driven by lower sales and marketing expenses. Sales and marketing expenses decreased $82 million or 2%, mainly due to a reduction in headcount-related expenses and lower fees paid to third-party enterprise software advisors.

Intelligent Cloud

Intelligent Cloud revenue increased $1.3 billion or 6%, primarily due to higher server products and cloud services revenue and Enterprise Services revenue. Revenue included an unfavorable foreign currency impact of approximately 5%.

Intelligent Cloud operating income decreased $513 million or 5%, primarily due to higher operating expenses, offset in part by higher gross margin. Operating expenses increased $989 million or 12%, mainly due to higher research and development expenses and sales and marketing expenses. Research and development expenses increased $567 million or 21% and sales and marketing expenses increased $347 million or 9%, driven by increased strategic investments and acquisitions to drive cloud sales capacity and innovation. Gross margin increased $476 million or 3%, driven by revenue growth, offset in part by higher cost of revenue. Gross margin included an unfavorable foreign currency impact of approximately 5%. Cost of revenue increased $851 million or 15%, primarily driven by an increased mix of cloud services.

More Personal Computing

More Personal Computing revenue decreased $2.7 billion or 6%, mainly due to lower revenue from Devices and Windows, offset in part by higher revenue from search advertising and Gaming. Revenue included an unfavorable foreign currency impact of approximately 2%.

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More Personal Computing operating income increased $1.5 billion or 32%, primarily due to lower operating expenses, offset in part by lower gross margin. Operating expenses decreased $2.0 billion or 13%, mainly due to lower sales and marketing expenses and research and development expenses. Sales and marketing expenses decreased $1.3 billion or 19% and research and development expenses decreased $676 million or 10%, driven by a reduction in phone expenses. Gross margin decreased $564 million or 3%, reflecting lower revenue, offset in part by a reduction in cost of revenue. Gross margin included an unfavorable foreign currency impact of approximately 5%. Cost of revenue decreased $2.1 billion or 9%, primarily driven by a reduction in phone sales, offset in part by higher search advertising cost of revenue.

Fiscal year 2015 compared with fiscal year 2014

Productivity and Business Processes

Productivity and Business Processes revenue decreased $546 million or 2%, mainly due to a decline in revenue from Office, offset in part by growth in revenue from Dynamics. Revenue included an unfavorable foreign currency impact of approximately 2%.

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Productivity and Business Processes operating income decreased $814 million or 6%, driven by lower gross margin, offset in part by a reduction in operating expenses. Gross margin decreased $1.0 billion or 4%, primarily due to the decline in Office Consumer revenue. Gross margin included an unfavorable foreign currency impact of approximately 2%. Cost of revenue increased $492 million or 15%, primarily due to higher cloud infrastructure expenses, reflecting increased datacenter capacity to serve our Office 365 offerings. Operating expenses decreased $224 million or 2%. Sales and marketing and general and administrative expenses decreased $258 million and $125 million, respectively, mainly due to lower headcount-related expenses. Research and development expenses increased $159 million or 6%, mainly due to increased investment in new products and services.

Intelligent Cloud

Intelligent Cloud revenue increased $2.0 billion or 9%, mainly due to higher server products and services revenue, as well as higher Enterprise Services revenue. Revenue included an unfavorable foreign currency impact of approximately 2%.

Intelligent Cloud operating income increased $1.4 billion or 17%, primarily due to higher gross margin, offset in part by higher operating expenses. Gross margin increased $1.6 billion or 10%, driven by revenue growth from our server products and services. Gross margin included an unfavorable foreign currency impact of approximately 2%. Cost of revenue increased $404 million or 7%, mainly due to higher cloud infrastructure expenses, reflecting increased datacenter capacity for our Azure services. Operating expenses increased $151 million or 2%, driven by higher research and development expenses. Research and development expenses increased $160 million or 6%, mainly due to increased investment in new products and services.

More Personal Computing

More Personal Computing revenue increased $4.7 billion or 12%, mainly due to growth in Devices, search advertising, and Gaming revenue, offset in part by a decline in revenue from Windows.

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More Personal Computing operating income decreased $938 million or 17%, primarily due to higher operating expenses, as well as a reduction in gross margin. Gross margin decreased $364 million or 2%, reflecting a reduction in Windows gross margin, offset in part by an increase in devices gross margin. Cost of revenue increased $5.1 billion or 28%, driven by higher phones cost of revenue, as well as higher Xbox Live and search infrastructure costs, offset in part by a reduction in Windows Phone cost of revenue. Phones cost of revenue increased $4.8 billion, reflecting a full year of phone sales in fiscal year 2015. Windows Phone cost of revenue decreased $897 million, driven by prior year costs associated with our joint strategic initiatives with Nokia that terminated when we acquired NDS. Operating expenses increased $574 million or 4%, driven by a full year of NDS expenses. Research and development expenses increased $346 million or 5%, mainly due to increased investment in new product and services, including higher phone expenses, offset in part by reduced headcount-related expenses. Sales and marketing expenses increased $211 million or 3%, primarily due to higher phone expenses, offset in part by a decline in advertising and other marketing program costs.

Corporate and Other

Corporate and Other revenue primarily comprises certain revenue deferrals, including those related to Windows 10, Bundled Offerings, and video games. Corporate and Other operating income (loss) primarily comprises revenue deferrals and corporate-level activity not specifically allocated to a segment, including impairment, integration, and restructuring expenses.

Fiscal year 2016 compared with fiscal year 2015

Corporate and Other revenue decreased $6.9 billion, primarily due to the impact of the net revenue deferral from Windows 10. During fiscal year 2016, we deferred net revenue from Windows 10 of $6.6 billion. During fiscal year 2015, we recognized a net $303 million of previously deferred revenue related to Bundled Offerings.

Corporate and Other operating loss decreased $2.0 billion, primarily due to an $8.9 billion reduction in impairment, integration, and restructuring expenses, driven by prior year goodwill and asset impairment charges related to our phone business, offset in part by lower revenue.

Fiscal year 2015 compared with fiscal year 2014

Corporate and Other revenue increased $613 million, primarily due to the timing of net revenue deferrals compared to the prior year. During fiscal year 2015, we recognized a net $303 million of previously deferred revenue related to Bundled Offerings. During fiscal year 2014, we deferred a net $349 million of revenue related to Bundled Offerings.

Corporate and Other operating loss increased $9.3 billion, primarily due to higher impairment, integration, and restructuring expenses, offset in part by increased revenue.

OPERATING EXPENSES

Research and Development

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Research and development expenses include payroll, employee benefits, stock-based compensation expense, and other headcount-related expenses associated with product development. Research and development expenses also include third-party development and programming costs, localization costs incurred to translate software for international markets, and the amortization of purchased software code.

Fiscal year 2016 compared with fiscal year 2015

Research and development expenses decreased $58 million, primarily due to a reduction in phone expenses, driven by the change in strategy for the phone business, offset in part by increased strategic investments and acquisitions to drive cloud innovation.

Fiscal year 2015 compared with fiscal year 2014

Research and development expenses increased $665 million or 6%, mainly due to increased investment in new products and services, including $739 million higher phone expenses, offset in part by reduced headcount-related expenses.

Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing expenses include payroll, employee benefits, stock-based compensation expense, and other headcount-related expenses associated with sales and marketing personnel and the costs of advertising, promotions, trade shows, seminars, and other programs.

Fiscal year 2016 compared with fiscal year 2015

Sales and marketing expenses decreased $1.0 billion or 6%, primarily due to a reduction in phone expenses, driven by the change in strategy for the phone business. Expenses included a favorable foreign currency impact of approximately 2%.

Fiscal year 2015 compared with fiscal year 2014

Sales and marketing expenses decreased $98 million or 1%, primarily due to a decline in advertising and marketing programs costs and a reduction in headcount-related expenses, offset in part by an increase in phone expenses. Expenses included a favorable foreign currency impact of approximately 4%.

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses include payroll, employee benefits, stock-based compensation expense, severance expense, and other headcount-related expenses associated with finance, legal, facilities, certain human resources and other administrative personnel, certain taxes, and legal and other administrative fees.

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Fiscal year 2016 compared with fiscal year 2015

General and administrative expenses decreased $48 million or 1%, primarily due to a reduction in employee-related expenses, offset in part by increased investments in infrastructure supporting our business transformation. Expenses included a favorable foreign currency impact of approximately 2%.

Fiscal year 2015 compared with fiscal year 2014

General and administrative expenses were comparable to the prior year.

IMPAIRMENT, INTEGRATION, AND RESTRUCTURING EXPENSES

Impairment, integration, and restructuring expenses include costs associated with the impairment of goodwill and intangible assets related to our phone business, employee severance expenses and costs associated with the consolidation of facilities and manufacturing operations related to restructuring activities, and systems consolidation and other business integration expenses associated with our acquisition of NDS.

Fiscal year 2016 compared with fiscal year 2015

Impairment, integration, and restructuring expenses were $1.1 billion for fiscal year 2016, compared to $10.0 billion for fiscal year 2015.

During fiscal year 2016, we recorded $630 million of asset impairment charges related to our phone business. We also recorded $480 million of restructuring charges, including employee severance expenses and contract termination costs, primarily related to our previously announced phone business restructuring plans.

During fiscal year 2015, we recognized impairment charges of $7.5 billion related to our phone business. Our annual goodwill impairment test as of May 1, 2015 indicated that the carrying value of our previous Phone Hardware reporting unit goodwill exceeded its estimated fair value. Accordingly, we recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $5.1 billion, reducing our Phone Hardware reporting unit goodwill from $5.4 billion to $116 million, net of foreign currency remeasurements, as well as an impairment charge of $2.2 billion related to the write-down of our Phone Hardware reporting unit intangible assets. All remaining goodwill and intangible assets are included in our Devices reporting unit, within More Personal Computing under our current segment structure. Restructuring charges were $2.1 billion, including employee severance expenses and the write-down of certain assets in connection with our restructuring activities. Integration expenses associated with the acquisition of NDS were $435 million in fiscal year 2015.

Fiscal year 2015 compared with fiscal year 2014

Impairment, integration, and restructuring expenses were $10.0 billion for fiscal year 2015, compared to $127 million for fiscal year 2014. Impairment, integration, and restructuring expenses for fiscal year 2015 are comprised mainly of impairment and restructuring charges of $7.5 billion and $2.1 billion, respectively, related to our phone business. Integration expenses increased $308 million, due to a full-year of integration activities in fiscal year 2015 associated with the acquisition of NDS.

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OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE), NET

The components of other income (expense), net were as follows:

We use derivative instruments to: manage risks related to foreign currencies, equity prices, interest rates, and credit; enhance investment returns; and facilitate portfolio diversification. Gains and losses from changes in fair values of derivatives that are not designated as hedges are primarily recognized in other income (expense), net. Other than those derivatives entered into for investment purposes, such as commodity contracts, the gains (losses) are generally economically offset by unrealized gains (losses) in the underlying available-for-sale securities and gains (losses) on certain balance sheet amounts from foreign exchange rate changes.

Fiscal year 2016 compared with fiscal year 2015

Dividends and interest income increased due to higher portfolio balances and slightly higher yields on fixed-income securities. Interest expense increased due to higher outstanding long-term debt. Net recognized gains on investments decreased primarily due to higher other-than-temporary impairments and lower gains on sales of fixed-income securities, offset in part by higher gains on sales of equity securities. Other-than-temporary impairments were $322 million in fiscal year 2016, compared with $183 million in fiscal year 2015. Net losses on derivatives increased due to higher losses on currency and equity contracts and lower gains on interest rate contracts in the current period as compared to the prior period, offset in part by lower losses on commodity contracts. For fiscal year 2016, other reflects recognized losses from divestitures and certain joint ventures.

Fiscal year 2015 compared with fiscal year 2014

Dividends and interest income decreased due to lower yields on fixed-income securities, offset in part by higher portfolio balances. Interest expense increased due to higher outstanding long-term debt. Net recognized gains on investments increased primarily due to higher gains on sales of equity securities, offset in part by higher other-than-temporary impairments. Other-than-temporary impairments were $183 million in fiscal year 2015, compared with $106 million in fiscal year 2014. Net losses on derivatives increased due to losses on commodity contracts in fiscal year 2015 as compared to gains in fiscal year 2014, offset in part by lower losses on currency and equity contracts. For fiscal year 2015, other reflects recognized losses from certain joint ventures and divestitures.

INCOME TAXES

Fiscal year 2016 compared with fiscal year 2015

Our effective tax rate for fiscal years 2016 and 2015 was 15% and 34%, respectively. Our effective tax rate was lower than the U.S. federal statutory rate primarily due to earnings taxed at lower rates in foreign jurisdictions resulting from producing and distributing our products and services through our foreign regional operations centers in Ireland, Singapore, and Puerto Rico.

The decrease in our effective tax rate for fiscal year 2016 compared to fiscal year 2015 was primarily due to changes in the mix of our income before income taxes between the U.S. and foreign countries including the impact of net

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revenue deferrals related to sales of Windows 10, tax benefits from the adoption of the new accounting guidance relating to stock-based compensation, and distributions from foreign affiliates. The fiscal year 2015 effective tax rate included the tax impact of losses in foreign jurisdictions for which we may not realize a tax benefit, primarily as a result of impairment and restructuring charges.

The mix of income before income taxes between the U.S. and foreign countries impacted our effective tax rate as a result of the geographic distribution of, and customer demand for, our products and services. We supply our Windows PC operating system to customers through our U.S. regional operating center, while we supply the Microsoft Office system and our server products and tools to customers through our foreign regional operations centers. In fiscal year 2016, our U.S. loss before income taxes was $325 million and our foreign income before income taxes was $20.1 billion. Net revenue deferrals related to sales of Windows 10 negatively impacted our fiscal year 2016 U.S. loss before income taxes by $6.0 billion and foreign income before income taxes by $588 million. In fiscal year 2015, our U.S. income before income taxes was $7.4 billion and our foreign income before income taxes was $11.1 billion. Impairment, integration, and restructuring expense relating to our phone business decreased our fiscal year 2015 U.S income before income taxes by $1.1 billion and foreign income before income taxes by $8.9 billion.

On July 27, 2015, the U.S. Tax Court issued an opinion in Altera Corp. v. Commissioner related to the treatment of stock-based compensation expense in an intercompany cost-sharing arrangement. The IRS’s decision to appeal on February 19, 2016 prolongs the uncertainty regarding the ultimate outcome of the Altera case, and we do not expect to adjust our consolidated financial statements until there is a final resolution of this case.

Tax contingencies and other income tax liabilities were $11.8 billion and $12.1 billion as of June 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and are included in other long-term liabilities. This decrease relates primarily to tax credits available for carryover and a partial settlement of the IRS audit for tax years 2007 to 2009, offset by increases relating to intercompany transfer pricing.

While we settled a portion of the IRS audit for tax years 2004 to 2006 during the third quarter of fiscal year 2011, and settled a portion of the IRS audit for tax years 2007 to 2009 during the first quarter of fiscal year 2016, we remain under audit for those years. In February 2012, the IRS withdrew its 2011 Revenue Agents Report for tax years 2004 to 2006 and reopened the audit phase of the examination. As of June 30, 2016, the primary unresolved issue relates to transfer pricing, which could have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements if not resolved favorably. We believe our allowances for income tax contingencies are adequate. We have not received a proposed assessment for the unresolved issues and do not expect a final resolution of these issues in the next 12 months. Based on the information currently available, we do not anticipate a significant increase or decrease to our tax contingencies for these issues within the next 12 months. We also continue to be subject to examination by the IRS for tax years 2010 to 2016.

We are subject to income tax in many jurisdictions outside the U.S. Our operations in certain jurisdictions remain subject to examination for tax years 1996 to 2016, some of which are currently under audit by local tax authorities. The resolutions of these audits are not expected to be material to our consolidated financial statements.

Fiscal year 2015 compared with fiscal year 2014

Our effective tax rate for fiscal years 2015 and 2014 was 34% and 21%, respectively. The fiscal year 2015 effective rate increased by 13%, primarily due to goodwill and asset impairments and restructuring charges recorded in fiscal year 2015, most of which did not generate a tax benefit. Our effective tax rate was lower than the U.S. federal statutory rate primarily due to foreign earnings taxed at lower rates resulting from producing and distributing our products and services through our foreign regional operations centers in Ireland, Singapore, and Puerto Rico. In fiscal year 2015, this reduction was mostly offset by losses in foreign jurisdictions for which we may not realize a tax benefit, primarily as a result of impairment and restructuring charges.

Changes in the mix of income before income taxes between the U.S. and foreign countries impacted our effective tax rate as a result of the geographic distribution of, and customer demand for, our products and services. We supply our Windows PC operating system to customers through our U.S. regional operating center, while we supply

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the Microsoft Office system and our server products and tools to customers through our foreign regional operations centers. In fiscal years 2015 and 2014, our U.S. income before income taxes was $7.4 billion and $7.1 billion, respectively, and comprised 40% and 26%, respectively, of our income before income taxes. In fiscal years 2015 and 2014, our foreign income before income taxes was $11.1 billion and $20.7 billion, respectively, and comprised 60% and 74%, respectively, of our income before income taxes.

FINANCIAL CONDITION

Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Investments

Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments totaled $113.2 billion as of June 30, 2016, compared with $96.5 billion as of June 30, 2015. Equity and other investments were $10.4 billion as of June 30, 2016, compared with $12.1 billion as of June 30, 2015. Our short-term investments are primarily intended to facilitate liquidity and for capital preservation. They consist predominantly of highly liquid investment-grade fixed-income securities, diversified among industries and individual issuers. The investments are predominantly U.S. dollar-denominated securities, but also include foreign currency-denominated securities in order to diversify risk. Our fixed-income investments are exposed to interest rate risk and credit risk. The credit risk and average maturity of our fixed-income portfolio are managed to achieve economic returns that correlate to certain fixed-income indices. The settlement risk related to these investments is insignificant given that the short-term investments held are primarily highly liquid investment-grade fixed-income securities.

Of the cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments as of June 30, 2016, $108.9 billion was held by our foreign subsidiaries and would be subject to material repatriation tax effects. The amount of cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments held by foreign subsidiaries subject to other restrictions on the free flow of funds (primarily currency and other local regulatory) was $2.4 billion. As of June 30, 2016, approximately 83% of the cash equivalents and short-term investments held by our foreign subsidiaries were invested in U.S. government and agency securities, approximately 4% were invested in corporate notes and bonds of U.S. companies, and approximately 5% were invested in U.S. mortgage- and asset-backed securities, all of which are denominated in U.S. dollars. The remaining cash equivalents and short-term investments held by our foreign subsidiaries were invested in foreign securities.

Securities lending

We lend certain fixed-income and equity securities to increase investment returns. The loaned securities continue to be carried as investments on our consolidated balance sheets. Cash and/or security interests are received as collateral for the loaned securities with the amount determined based upon the underlying security lent and the creditworthiness of the borrower. Collateral received is recorded as an asset with a corresponding liability. Our securities lending payable balance was $294 million as of June 30, 2016. Our average and maximum securities lending payable balances for fiscal year 2016 were $361 million and $1.2 billion, respectively. Intra-year variances in the amount of securities loaned are mainly due to fluctuations in the demand for the securities.

Valuation

In general, and where applicable, we use quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities to determine the fair value of our financial instruments. This pricing methodology applies to our Level 1 investments, such as exchange-traded mutual funds, domestic and international equities, and U.S. government securities. If quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities are not available to determine fair value, then we use quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities or inputs other than the quoted prices that are observable either directly or indirectly. This pricing methodology applies to our Level 2 investments such as corporate notes and bonds, common and preferred stock, foreign government bonds, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, U.S. government and agency securities, and certificates of deposit. Level 3 investments are valued using internally developed models with unobservable inputs. Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs are an immaterial portion of our portfolio.

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A majority of our investments are priced by pricing vendors and are generally Level 1 or Level 2 investments as these vendors either provide a quoted market price in an active market or use observable inputs for their pricing without applying significant adjustments. Broker pricing is used mainly when a quoted price is not available, the investment is not priced by our pricing vendors, or when a broker price is more reflective of fair values in the market in which the investment trades. Our broker-priced investments are generally classified as Level 2 investments because the broker prices these investments based on similar assets without applying significant adjustments. In addition, all of our broker-priced investments have a sufficient level of trading volume to demonstrate that the fair values used are appropriate for these investments. Our fair value processes include controls that are designed to ensure appropriate fair values are recorded. These controls include model validation, review of key model inputs, analysis of period-over-period fluctuations, and independent recalculation of prices where appropriate.

Cash Flows

Fiscal year 2016 compared with fiscal year 2015

Cash flows from operations increased $3.7 billion to $33.3 billion during the fiscal year, mainly due to lower operating expenditures and a reduction in materials and production costs, offset in part by a decrease in cash received from customers. Cash used in financing decreased $1.3 billion to $8.4 billion, mainly due to a $4.6 billion increase in proceeds from issuances of debt, net of repayments, offset in part by a $1.5 billion increase in cash used for common stock repurchases and a $1.1 billion increase in dividends paid. Cash used in investing increased $949 million to $24.0 billion, mainly due to a $2.4 billion increase in cash used for additions to property and equipment and a $1.5 billion increase in cash used for net investment purchases, sales, and maturities, offset in part by a $2.3 billion decrease in cash used for acquisitions of companies, net of cash acquired, and purchases of intangibles and other assets.

Fiscal year 2015 compared with fiscal year 2014

Cash flows from operations decreased $2.8 billion to $29.7 billion, mainly due to an increase in materials and production costs in support of sales growth as well as payments related to restructuring charges and other changes in working capital, offset in part by increases in cash received from customers. Cash used in financing increased $1.0 billion to $9.7 billion, mainly due to a $7.1 billion increase in cash used for common stock repurchases, offset in part by a $6.7 billion increase in proceeds from issuances of debt, net of repayments. Cash used in investing increased $4.2 billion to $23.0 billion, mainly due to a $5.5 billion increase in cash used for net investment purchases, sales, and maturities, partially offset by a $2.2 billion decrease in cash used for acquisitions of companies, net of cash acquired, and purchases of intangible and other assets.

Debt

We issued debt to take advantage of favorable pricing and liquidity in the debt markets, reflecting our credit rating and the low interest rate environment. The proceeds of these issuances were or will be used for general corporate purposes, which may include, among other things, funding for working capital, capital expenditures, repurchases of capital stock, acquisitions, and repayment of existing debt. See Note 12 – Debt of the Notes to Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K) for further discussion.

Unearned Revenue

Unearned revenue as of June 30, 2016 was comprised mainly of unearned revenue from volume licensing programs. Unearned revenue from volume licensing programs represents customer billings for multi-year licensing arrangements paid for either at inception of the agreement or annually at the beginning of each coverage period and accounted for as subscriptions with revenue recognized ratably over the coverage period. Unearned revenue as of June 30, 2016 also included payments for: Windows 10 licenses; post-delivery support and consulting services to be performed in the future; Office 365 subscriptions; Xbox Live subscriptions; Microsoft Dynamics business solutions products; Skype prepaid credits and subscriptions; Bundled Offerings; and other offerings for which we have been paid in advance and earn the revenue when we provide the service or software, or otherwise meet the revenue recognition criteria.

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The following table outlines the expected future recognition of unearned revenue as of June 30, 2016:

Share Repurchases

On September 16, 2013, our Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program authorizing up to $40.0 billion in share repurchases. The share repurchase program became effective on October 1, 2013, has no expiration date, and may be suspended or discontinued at any time without notice. This share repurchase program replaced the share repurchase program that was announced on September 22, 2008 and expired on September 30, 2013. As of June 30, 2016, $7.1 billion remained of our $40.0 billion share repurchase program. While the program has no expiration date, we intend to complete it by December 31, 2016. All repurchases were made using cash resources.

During fiscal year 2016, we repurchased 294 million shares of Microsoft common stock for $14.8 billion under the share repurchase program approved by our Board of Directors on September 16, 2013. During fiscal year 2015, we repurchased 295 million shares of Microsoft common stock for $13.2 billion under the share repurchase program approved by our Board of Directors on September 16, 2013. During fiscal year 2014, we repurchased 175 million shares for $6.4 billion; 128 million shares were repurchased for $4.9 billion under the share repurchase program approved by our Board of Directors on September 16, 2013, and 47 million shares were repurchased for $1.5 billion under the share repurchase program that was announced on September 22, 2008 and expired September 30, 2013.

Dividends

See Note 18 – Stockholders’ Equity of the Notes to Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K) for further discussion.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We provide indemnifications of varying scope and size to certain customers against claims of intellectual property infringement made by third parties arising from the use of our products and certain other matters. Additionally, we have agreed to cover damages resulting from breaches of certain security and privacy commitments in our cloud business. In evaluating estimated losses on these indemnifications, we consider factors such as the degree of probability of an unfavorable outcome and our ability to make a reasonable estimate of the amount of loss. These obligations did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements during the periods presented.

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Contractual Obligations

The following table summarizes the payments due by fiscal year for our outstanding contractual obligations as of June 30, 2016:

Other Planned Uses of Capital

In June 2016, we entered into a definitive agreement to acquire LinkedIn in an all-cash transaction valued at $26.2 billion, inclusive of LinkedIn’s net cash. We expect the acquisition will close in calendar year 2016, and we will finance the transaction primarily through the issuance of new debt.

We will continue to invest in sales, marketing, product support infrastructure, and existing and advanced areas of technology, as well as continue making acquisitions that align with our business strategy. Additions to property and equipment will continue, including new facilities, datacenters, and computer systems for research and development, sales and marketing, support, and administrative staff. We expect capital expenditures to increase in coming years in support of our productivity and platform strategy. We have operating leases for most U.S. and international sales and support offices and certain equipment. We have not engaged in any related party transactions or arrangements with unconsolidated entities or other persons that are reasonably likely to materially affect liquidity or the availability of capital resources.

Liquidity

We earn a significant amount of our operating income outside the U.S., which is deemed to be permanently reinvested in foreign jurisdictions. As a result, as discussed above under Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Investments, the majority of our cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments are held by foreign subsidiaries. We currently do not intend nor foresee a need to repatriate these funds. We expect existing domestic cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments, cash flows from operations, and access to capital markets to continue to be sufficient to fund our domestic operating activities and cash commitments for investing and financing activities, such as regular quarterly dividends, debt maturities, and material capital expenditures, for at least the next 12 months and thereafter for the foreseeable future. In addition, we expect existing foreign cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments, and cash flows from operations to continue to be sufficient to fund our foreign operating activities and cash commitments for investing activities, such as material capital expenditures, for at least the next 12 months and thereafter for the foreseeable future.

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Should we require more capital in the U.S. than is generated by our operations domestically, for example to fund significant discretionary activities, such as business acquisitions and share repurchases, we could elect to repatriate future earnings from foreign jurisdictions or raise capital in the U.S. through debt or equity issuances. These alternatives could result in higher effective tax rates, increased interest expense, or dilution of our earnings. We have borrowed funds domestically and continue to believe we have the ability to do so at reasonable interest rates.

RECENT ACCOUNTING GUIDANCE

See Note 1 – Accounting Policies of the Notes to Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K) for further discussion.

APPLICATION OF CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Preparing consolidated financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, and expenses. These estimates and assumptions are affected by management’s application of accounting policies. Critical accounting policies for us include revenue recognition, impairment of investment securities, goodwill, research and development costs, contingencies, income taxes, and inventories.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue recognition for multiple-element arrangements requires judgment to determine if multiple elements exist, whether elements can be accounted for as separate units of accounting, and if so, the fair value for each of the elements.

Judgment is also required to assess whether future releases of certain software represent new products or upgrades and enhancements to existing products. Certain volume licensing arrangements include a perpetual license for current products combined with rights to receive unspecified future versions of software products and are accounted for as subscriptions, with billings recorded as unearned revenue and recognized as revenue ratably over the coverage period.

Software updates are evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine whether they meet the definition of an upgrade, which may require revenue to be deferred and recognized when the upgrade is delivered. If it is determined that implied post-contract customer support (“PCS”) is being provided, revenue from the arrangement is deferred and recognized over the implied PCS term. If updates are determined to not meet the definition of an upgrade, revenue is generally recognized as products are shipped or made available.

Microsoft enters into arrangements that can include various combinations of software, services, and hardware. Where elements are delivered over different periods of time, and when allowed under U.S. GAAP, revenue is allocated to the respective elements based on their relative selling prices at the inception of the arrangement, and revenue is recognized as each element is delivered. We use a hierarchy to determine the fair value to be used for allocating revenue to elements: (i) vendor-specific objective evidence of fair value (“VSOE”), (ii) third-party evidence, and (iii) best estimate of selling price (“ESP”). For software elements, we follow the industry-specific software guidance which only allows for the use of VSOE in establishing fair value. Generally, VSOE is the price charged when the deliverable is sold separately or the price established by management for a product that is not yet sold if it is probable that the price will not change before introduction into the marketplace. ESPs are established as best estimates of what the selling prices would be if the deliverables were sold regularly on a stand-alone basis. Our process for determining ESPs requires judgment and considers multiple factors that may vary over time depending upon the unique facts and circumstances related to each deliverable.

In January 2015, we announced Windows 10 would be free to all qualified existing users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. This offer differs from historical offers preceding the launch of new versions of Windows as it is being made

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available for free to existing users in addition to new customers after the offer announcement. We evaluated the nature and accounting treatment of the Windows 10 offer and determined that it represents a marketing and promotional activity, in part because the offer is being made available for free to existing users. As this is a marketing and promotional activity, revenue recognition of new sales of Windows 8 will continue to be recognized as delivered.

Customers purchasing a Windows 10 license will receive unspecified updates and upgrades over the life of their Windows 10 device at no additional cost. As these updates and upgrades will not be sold on a stand-alone basis, we are unable to establish VSOE. Accordingly, revenue from licenses of Windows 10 is recognized ratably over the estimated life of the related device, which ranges between two to four years.

We currently are evaluating the impact of the new standard related to revenue recognition, which we anticipate will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. See Note 1 – Accounting Policies of the Notes to Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K) for further discussion.

Impairment of Investment Securities

We review investments quarterly for indicators of other-than-temporary impairment. This determination requires significant judgment. In making this judgment, we employ a systematic methodology quarterly that considers available quantitative and qualitative evidence in evaluating potential impairment of our investments. If the cost of an investment exceeds its fair value, we evaluate, among other factors, general market conditions, credit quality of debt instrument issuers, the duration and extent to which the fair value is less than cost, and for equity securities, our intent and ability to hold, or plans to sell, the investment. For fixed-income securities, we also evaluate whether we have plans to sell the security or it is more likely than not that we will be required to sell the security before recovery. We also consider specific adverse conditions related to the financial health of and business outlook for the investee, including industry and sector performance, changes in technology, and operational and financing cash flow factors. Once a decline in fair value is determined to be other-than-temporary, an impairment charge is recorded to other income (expense), net and a new cost basis in the investment is established. If market, industry, and/or investee conditions deteriorate, we may incur future impairments.

Goodwill

We allocate goodwill to reporting units based on the reporting unit expected to benefit from the business combination. We evaluate our reporting units on an annual basis and, if necessary, reassign goodwill using a relative fair value allocation approach. Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level (operating segment or one level below an operating segment) on an annual basis (May 1 for us) and between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value. These events or circumstances could include a significant change in the business climate, legal factors, operating performance indicators, competition, or sale or disposition of a significant portion of a reporting unit.

Application of the goodwill impairment test requires judgment, including the identification of reporting units, assignment of assets and liabilities to reporting units, assignment of goodwill to reporting units, and determination of the fair value of each reporting unit. The fair value of each reporting unit is estimated primarily through the use of a discounted cash flow methodology. This analysis requires significant judgments, including estimation of future cash flows, which is dependent on internal forecasts, estimation of the long-term rate of growth for our business, estimation of the useful life over which cash flows will occur, and determination of our weighted average cost of capital.

The estimates used to calculate the fair value of a reporting unit change from year to year based on operating results, market conditions, and other factors. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value and goodwill impairment for each reporting unit.

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Research and Development Costs

Costs incurred internally in researching and developing a computer software product are charged to expense until technological feasibility has been established for the product. Once technological feasibility is established, all software costs are capitalized until the product is available for general release to customers. Judgment is required in determining when technological feasibility of a product is established. We have determined that technological feasibility for our software products is reached after all high-risk development issues have been resolved through coding and testing. Generally, this occurs shortly before the products are released to manufacturing. The amortization of these costs is included in cost of revenue over the estimated life of the products.

Legal and Other Contingencies

The outcomes of legal proceedings and claims brought against us are subject to significant uncertainty. An estimated loss from a loss contingency such as a legal proceeding or claim is accrued by a charge to income if it is probable that an asset has been impaired or a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. In determining whether a loss should be accrued we evaluate, among other factors, the degree of probability of an unfavorable outcome and the ability to make a reasonable estimate of the amount of loss. Changes in these factors could materially impact our consolidated financial statements.

Income Taxes

The objectives of accounting for income taxes are to recognize the amount of taxes payable or refundable for the current year and deferred tax liabilities and assets for the future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in an entity’s financial statements or tax returns. We recognize the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the financial statements from such a position are measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. Accounting literature also provides guidance on derecognition of income tax assets and liabilities, classification of deferred income tax assets and liabilities, accounting for interest and penalties associated with tax positions, and income tax disclosures. Judgment is required in assessing the future tax consequences of events that have been recognized on our consolidated financial statements or tax returns. Variations in the actual outcome of these future tax consequences could materially impact our consolidated financial statements.

Inventories

Inventories are stated at average cost, subject to the lower of cost or market. Cost includes materials, labor, and manufacturing overhead related to the purchase and production of inventories. We regularly review inventory quantities on hand, future purchase commitments with our suppliers, and the estimated utility of our inventory. These reviews include analysis of demand forecasts, product life cycle status, product development plans, current sales levels, pricing strategy, and component cost trends. If our review indicates a reduction in utility below carrying value, we reduce our inventory to a new cost basis through a charge to cost of revenue.

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STATEMENT OF MANAGEMENT’S RESPONSIBILITY FOR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Management is responsible for the preparation of the consolidated financial statements and related information that are presented in this report. The consolidated financial statements, which include amounts based on management’s estimates and judgments, have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

The Company designs and maintains accounting and internal control systems to provide reasonable assurance at reasonable cost that assets are safeguarded against loss from unauthorized use or disposition, and that the financial records are reliable for preparing consolidated financial statements and maintaining accountability for assets. These systems are augmented by written policies, an organizational structure providing division of responsibilities, careful selection and training of qualified personnel, and a program of internal audits.

The Company engaged Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, to audit and render an opinion on the consolidated financial statements and internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).

The Board of Directors, through its Audit Committee, consisting solely of independent directors of the Company, meets periodically with management, internal auditors, and our independent registered public accounting firm to ensure that each is meeting its responsibilities and to discuss matters concerning internal controls and financial reporting. Deloitte & Touche LLP and the internal auditors each have full and free access to the Audit Committee.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

RISKS

We are exposed to economic risk from foreign exchange rates, interest rates, credit risk, equity prices, and commodity prices. A portion of these risks is hedged, but they may impact our consolidated financial statements.

Foreign Currency

Certain forecasted transactions, assets, and liabilities are exposed to foreign currency risk. We monitor our foreign currency exposures daily and use hedges where practicable to offset the risks and maximize the economic effectiveness of our foreign currency positions. Principal currencies hedged include the euro, Japanese yen, British pound, Canadian dollar, and Australian dollar.

Interest Rate

Our fixed-income portfolio is diversified across credit sectors and maturities, consisting primarily of investment-grade securities. The credit risk and average maturity of the fixed-income portfolio is managed to achieve economic returns that correlate to certain global and domestic fixed-income indices. In addition, we use “To Be Announced” forward purchase commitments of mortgage-backed assets to gain exposure to agency mortgage-backed securities.

Equity

Our equity portfolio consists of global, developed, and emerging market securities that are subject to market price risk. We manage the securities relative to certain global and domestic indices and expect their economic risk and return to correlate with these indices.

Commodity

We use broad-based commodity exposures to enhance portfolio returns and facilitate portfolio diversification. Our investment portfolio has exposure to a variety of commodities, including precious metals, energy, and grain. We manage these exposures relative to global commodity indices and expect their economic risk and return to correlate with these indices.

VALUE-AT-RISK

We use a value-at-risk (“VaR”) model to estimate and quantify our market risks. VaR is the expected loss, for a given confidence level, in the fair value of our portfolio due to adverse market movements over a defined time horizon. The VaR model is not intended to represent actual losses in fair value, including determinations of other-than-temporary losses in fair value in accordance with U.S. GAAP, but is used as a risk estimation and management tool. The distribution of the potential changes in total market value of all holdings is computed based on the historical volatilities and correlations among foreign exchange rates, interest rates, equity prices, and commodity prices, assuming normal market conditions.

The VaR is calculated as the total loss that will not be exceeded at the 97.5 percentile confidence level or, alternatively stated, the losses could exceed the VaR in 25 out of 1,000 cases. Several risk factors are not captured in the model, including liquidity risk, operational risk, and legal risk.

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The following table sets forth the one-day VaR for substantially all of our positions as of June 30, 2016 and 2015 and for the year ended June 30, 2016:

Total one-day VaR for the combined risk categories was $225 million as of June 30, 2016 and $237 million as of June 30, 2015. The total VaR is 29% less as of June 30, 2016 and June 30, 2015, respectively, than the sum of the separate risk categories in the table above due to the diversification benefit of the combination of risks.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

INCOME STATEMENTS