The “Magnificent Seven” are the names of seven of the most dominant technology companies: Apple, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), NVIDIA, alphabet, Amazon, Meta-platformsAnd TeslaUnfortunately, things haven’t been going so well for these stocks over the last month, with none of the seven stocks posting positive gains during this period.

One of the triggers for the recent sell-off was Japan’s decision to raise interest rates and the impact this had on investors (and many hedge funds) who engage in carry trades, a strategy that involves borrowing cheap money to invest in high-growth stocks like the Magnificent Seven.

Added to this is the uncertainty surrounding the US economy and the fears about how it might develop. Despite all the uncertainty, Microsoft remains the stock I would buy at this time.

Many large technology companies rely heavily on a particular product or service

There aren’t many companies in the world that have been as successful in as many different areas as Microsoft. Microsoft is like a Swiss Army knife of big tech companies, covering a wide spectrum. And while other big tech companies cover a wide spectrum, many of them rely on certain products or services to continue to make money.

Here are five of the Magnificent Seven and their main revenue generators:

Source: Company’s financial statements. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole percentage.

Tesla has not released vehicle-specific sales figures, but for perspective, Model 3/Y deliveries accounted for over 95% of its total deliveries last quarter.

So, too, do these products and services. If iPhone sales collapse, Apple’s revenue will fall; if GPUs slow down, Nvidia will struggle; and if companies cut advertising spending, Alphabet and Meta will feel the pinch.

A broad network and corporate customers protect Microsoft in difficult times

Microsoft has three major business units, but they encompass many different products and services:

If companies decide to recruit less employees through LinkedIn, Microsoft will still have its highly successful Office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams). If companies decide to favor Amazon Web Services as their cloud provider, Microsoft will still have its Windows devices that thousands of companies around the world use. If gamers choose the PlayStation over the Xbox, Microsoft will still have its suite of enterprise services. And so on and so forth.

The story continues

It also helps that many of Microsoft’s customers are other businesses. Consumers are typically the first to cut spending when the economy weakens, while businesses typically continue to invest in key services and software.

It’s much easier to skip an iPhone upgrade cycle, wait for the latest Tesla, cut back on Google advertising, or forgo online shopping than it is to forgo a cloud platform, enterprise software, or cybersecurity protection.

Now is a good time to play the long-term game

It’s easy to get carried away by the short-term movements of the stock market. Even the most experienced investors are guilty of this (myself included). However, it’s important to remember that investing is a long-term affair, because if you lose sight of this, you could end up making short-term decisions that go against your long-term interest.

If anything, sell-offs like the one we’re seeing right now are an opportunity to buy stocks at much cheaper prices than before. Some people see problems, others see an opportunity to buy on dips.

No one can predict how the stock market will perform, and we have no control over it. What you can control, however, is consistency. By averaging costs, you can smooth out volatility and avoid a situation where you invest a large sum just before a big drop. This is a great strategy to minimize risk while putting yourself in a good position to build wealth over the long term.

Should you invest $1,000 in Microsoft now?

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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister of Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. John Mackey, a former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Stefon Walters has positions in Apple and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Here are the seven glorious stocks I’m buying during the current market sell-off. Originally published by The Motley Fool