Microsoft: $18.5 billion in annual dividends paid to shareholders Yield isn't everything -- just ask Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) shareholders. CEO Tim Cook is overseeing this ongoing transition that'll further improve customer loyalty, generate higher-margin recurring revenue, open doors to unique possibilities (i.e., building the foundation of the metaverse), and minimize the peaks and troughs associated with product replacement cycles. With regard to the latter, people are always going to need prescription drugs, medical devices, and healthcare services, no matter how high inflation rises or how poorly the U.S. economy and stock market perform.