StockWhen the company debuted its IPO in March 13, 1986, the stock price was US $21.[76][77] By the close of the first trading day, the stock had clos

When the company debuted its IPO in March 13, 1986, the stock price was US $21.[76][77] By the close of the first trading day, the stock had closed at $28, equivalent to 9.7 cents when adjusted for the company's first nine splits.[77] The initial close and ensuing rise in subsequent years made several Microsoft employees millions.[11] The stock price peaked in 1999 at around US $119 (US $60.928 adjusting for splits).[77] While the company has had nine stock splits, the first of which was in September 18, 1987, the company did not start offering a dividend until January 16, 2003.[77][78] The dividend for the 2003 fiscal year was eight cents per share, followed by a dividend of sixteen cents per share the subsequent year.[78] The company switched from yearly to quarterly dividends in 2005, for eight cents a share per quarter with a special one-time payout of three dollars per share for the second quarter of the fiscal year.[78]
Despite the company's ninth split on February 2, 2003 and subsequent increases in dividend payouts, the price of Microsoft's stock largely remained steady for the next several years,[78][79] with a rise in stock price around the release of Windows Vista and a fall during the