AXA vs Microsoft: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
AXA reported ~$131.1B of revenue in FY2025 and ~$11.1B of net income. Microsoft reported $331.8B of revenue in FY2026 and $133.7B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
AXA
AXA's results combine large, slow-moving premium income with investment income on the reserves it holds. In 2025 gross written premiums and other revenues rose 6% to ~$131 billion (EUR 116 billion), underlying earnings rose 6% to ~$9.49 billion (EUR 8.4 billion), underlying earnings per share rose 8% to EUR 3.86 and net income rose to ~$11.1 billion (EUR 9.80 billion), helped by the gain on the sale of AXA Investment Managers. The property and casualty combined ratio improved 0.3 points to 90.6%, so underwriting itself was profitable before investment income. The Solvency II ratio ended 2025 at 224%, and 215% on January 1, 2026 once capital instruments under Solvency II transitional measures stopped qualifying. AXA proposed a dividend of EUR 2.32 per share for 2025, up 8%, alongside an annual buyback of up to $1.41 billion (EUR 1.25 billion).
Microsoft
Microsoft's FY2026 revenue rose 17.8% to $331.8 billion, operating income rose 21% to $155.2 billion, and GAAP net income rose 31% to $133.7 billion. Fourth-quarter revenue was $90.0 billion (up 18%) with net income of $35.8 billion, helped by a $3.2 billion gain on its Anthropic investment. Microsoft Cloud revenue reached $59.3 billion in Q4, up 27%. The main pressure point is capital intensity: AI data center spending has pushed free cash flow growth well below earnings growth.
Revenue and profit by year
AXA
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | ~$131.1B | ~$11.1B | 8.4% | +5.2% | Source |
| FY2024 | ~$124.6B | ~$8.9B | 7.2% | +7.4% | Source |
| FY2023 | ~$116.1B | ~$8.1B | 7.0% | +0.7% | Source |
| FY2022 | ~$115.3B | — | 0.0% | +2.1% | Source |
| FY2021 | ~$112.9B | ~$8.2B | 7.3% | +3.0% | Source |
| FY2020 | ~$109.6B | — | 0.0% | -6.3% | Source |
| FY2019 | ~$117B | — | 0.0% | +0.6% | Source |
| FY2018 | ~$116.3B | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
| FY2016 | ~$113B | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
Microsoft
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $331.8B | $133.7B | 40.3% | +17.8% | Source |
| FY2025 | $281.7B | $101.8B | 36.1% | +14.9% | Source |
| FY2024 | $245.1B | $88.1B | 36.0% | +15.7% | Source |
| FY2023 | $211.9B | $72.4B | 34.1% | +6.9% | Source |
| FY2022 | $198.3B | $72.7B | 36.7% | +18.0% | Source |
| FY2021 | $168.1B | $61.3B | 36.5% | +17.5% | Source |
| FY2020 | $143B | $44.3B | 31.0% | +13.6% | Source |
| FY2019 | $125.8B | $39.2B | 31.2% | +14.0% | Source |
| FY2018 | $110.4B | $16.6B | 15.0% | +14.3% | Source |
| FY2017 | $96.6B | $25.5B | 26.4% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
AXA
- Property & Casualty Insurance~50%
Gross written premiums and revenues of ~$65.5 billion (EUR 58 billion) in 2025, up 5%, including personal lines of ~$22.3 billion (EUR 19.7 billion) and AXA XL Reinsurance of ~$2.94 billion (EUR 2.6 billion). The 90.6% combined ratio means the book was profitable before investment income.
- Life & Savings Insurance~32%
~$42.4 billion (EUR 37.5 billion) of 2025 premiums and revenues, up 9%, with unit-linked business up 13%. Capital-light savings and protection contracts have replaced much of the traditional guaranteed savings book.
- Health Insurance~16%
~$21.5 billion (EUR 19 billion) of 2025 premiums and revenues, up 5% on pricing, spanning individual cover, group schemes and employee benefits. Health earnings grew 17% in 2025.
- Asset Management (divested July 2025)~1%
AXA Investment Managers contributed revenues only until July 1, 2025, when it was sold to BNP Paribas Cardif for ~$5.76 billion (EUR 5.1 billion) in cash out of a ~$6.1 billion (EUR 5.4 billion) total transaction value.
Microsoft
- Productivity And Business ProcessesMajor
Office, Microsoft 365, LinkedIn, Dynamics, and related cloud services.
- Intelligent CloudMajor
Azure, server products, enterprise services, and cloud infrastructure.
- More Personal ComputingMajor
Windows, devices, gaming, search, and advertising.
- AI Services And CopilotsGrowth
AI features and model-powered services embedded across Azure, Microsoft 365, GitHub, security, and developer tools.
Business model and strategy
AXA
How it makes money
AXA collects premiums across three businesses: property and casualty (motor, home, commercial property, liability and specialty risks written through AXA XL), life and savings (protection, general account savings and unit-linked contracts), and health (individual cover and employee benefits).
Growth strategy
AXA grows mostly organically in insurance lines it can price, supplemented by bolt-on deals: Laya Healthcare in Ireland and GACM España in 2023, and a 51% stake in the Italian direct insurer Prima announced in 2025 for ~$565 million (EUR 500 million). The bigger strategic move has been simplification.
Competitive advantage
AXA's main advantage is a diversified risk pool. Writing motor, home, commercial property, liability, health and life cover in 52 countries lets one bad year in a single market or line be absorbed elsewhere: in 2025 growth in health and European commercial lines offset pressure in other portfolios. Its balance sheet supports that spread, with a Solvency II ratio of 224% at the end of 2025.
Microsoft
How it makes money
Microsoft reports three segments. Intelligent Cloud covers Azure, SQL Server, Windows Server, GitHub, Nuance, and enterprise services; server products and cloud services alone brought in $129.4 billion in FY2026, and Azure passed $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time.
Growth strategy
Microsoft's growth plan centers on AI capacity and AI subscriptions. It is spending heavily on data centers and chips to meet Azure demand that management says remains capacity constrained, and it is selling Microsoft 365 Copilot as a paid add-on, which passed 30 million paid seats by the end of FY2026.
Competitive advantage
Microsoft's main advantage is distribution inside enterprises. Identity (Entra), email and documents (Microsoft 365), collaboration (Teams), developer tools (GitHub, Visual Studio), and cloud infrastructure (Azure) are often bought together, which raises switching costs and lets Microsoft attach new products such as Copilot to existing contracts.
Questions about AXA vs Microsoft
Which company has higher revenue — AXA SA or Microsoft Corporation?
AXA SA reported ~$131.1B (FY2025), while Microsoft Corporation reported $331.8B (FY2026). By last reported revenue, Microsoft Corporation is the larger business, with AXA SA reporting a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
What is the market cap of AXA SA vs Microsoft Corporation?
AXA SA's market capitalisation stands at $90.3B, while Microsoft Corporation's is $3.83T. Microsoft Corporation carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to AXA SA.
Which is more financially efficient — AXA SA or Microsoft Corporation?
AXA SA generates $840k / employee in revenue per employee, while Microsoft Corporation generates $1.49M / employee. Microsoft Corporation shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do AXA SA and Microsoft Corporation make money?
AXA SA and Microsoft Corporation generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. AXA SA: AXA collects premiums across three businesses: property and casualty (motor, home, commercial property, liability and specialty risks written through AXA XL), life and savings (protection, general account savings and unit-linked contracts), and health (individual cover and employee benefits). Microsoft Corporation: Microsoft reports three segments.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — AXA SA or Microsoft Corporation?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, AXA SA trades at 0.7x P/S and Microsoft Corporation at 11.5x P/S. Microsoft Corporation commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to AXA SA. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is AXA SA bigger than Microsoft Corporation?
By last reported revenue, Microsoft Corporation ($331.8B (FY2026)) is the larger company compared to AXA SA (~$131.1B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the AXA vs Microsoft overview