Microsoft | Fundamental Analysis | MUST READ | LONG SETUP ⚡️

The market was on the upswing yesterday as receding fears of Omicron strain and renewed expectancy for the "Build Back Better" bill led to significant gains in stocks. Amid all the exciting moves in battered cyclical stocks and small-cap stocks, another important story -- actually, two stories -- surrounding technology star Microsoft may have slipped past your attention. These headlines were not only important in and of themselves, but also in terms of what they connote for Microsoft's growth prospects.

Two days ago, the European Commission approved Microsoft's upcoming deal with Nuance Communications. Microsoft announced a $16 billion deal with Nuance back in April, but its prospects have never been entirely certain. Microsoft is a large and powerful technology company, which means antitrust concerns are always a danger to any deal -- especially a big one. The Nuance deal is the second-largest for Microsoft after its 2016 acquisition of LinkedIn.

But Microsoft seems to know what it's doing when it targets a company. That wasn't evident last year when executives of most FAANG stocks had to testify before Congress about their market power. And Europe has been particularly tough on big tech companies in recent years, even tougher than the U.S.

Nevertheless, the commission concluded that the Nuance acquisition would not significantly reduce competition in artificial intelligence (AI) in health care. Now that the merger is set to take place, Nuance's AI capabilities are expected to strengthen Microsoft's already strong cloud-based healthcare services.

During the merger, CEO Satya Nadella said: "Nuance provides a level of AI at the point of care and is a pioneer in the real-world application of enterprise AI. AI is a critical technology priority, and healthcare is its most relevant application. Together with our partner ecosystem, we will put advanced AI solutions in the hands of professionals everywhere to drive better decisions and create more meaningful connections, accelerating the growth of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare and Nuance."

Over the past two years, Microsoft has managed to maintain outstanding cloud growth through the introduction of industry clouds. It looks like Nuance will fill some of the gaps in Microsoft's healthcare capabilities.

With the ability to still make large and meaningful acquisitions, MSFT seems to have an advantage over some competitors who seem to be attracting more antitrust attention for some reason. This ability may let it support growth longer than skeptics believe.

Following this good news, Microsoft wasted no time in announcing another acquisition. This time Microsoft will acquire digital advertising technology company Xandr from AT&T. Xandr is the result of a merger of AT&T's own digital advertising capabilities with AppNexus, the programmatic advertising company it acquired for $1.6 billion in 2018.

AT&T had hoped to turn Xandr into a powerful programmatic advertising company, but apparently, the scale wasn't enough to justify keeping it. AT&T has recently sought to sell non-core assets to pay down debt in anticipation of the spin-off and merger of WarnerMedia with Discovery. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed, so we don't know how much Microsoft will pay.

Microsoft will likely try to merge Xandr with Bing, its second-ranked search engine, to create better programmatic and artificial intelligence-driven advertising capabilities. Bing is often something of secondary consideration for Microsoft investors, but it's not worth telling management. Microsoft seems intent on developing its digital advertising capabilities to compete with the dominant "walled gardens" of digital advertising, especially since privacy restrictions could open up competitive opportunities.

While many are willing to settle for Microsoft's enterprise software alone, the tenacity to push into other areas of growth is admirable and is music to the ears of this happy shareholder. If there is any danger of over-diversifying the business away from core capabilities, as AT&T has done, it has not manifested itself in Microsoft's financial performance.

After rising 43% over the past 12 months, marking another successful year for the market, and finding itself just below historic highs at $327 per share, Microsoft may have investors wondering if the company can continue that streak. After all, it's harder to grow fast the bigger you get.

However, people said this a few years ago about Microsoft when the stock price was still in double digits. Earnings in several of the company's core businesses remain strong, and these two new acquisitions demonstrate management's tenacity in pursuing growth across an impressive portfolio.