Microsoft's Yahoo foray signals its shaky grip on the desktop
,----[ Quote ]
| WHO'S THE bigger loser from Microsoft's withdrawn bid for Yahoo? Investors
| certainly punished the Internet company on Monday for letting the prospective
| deal go away, and they enthusiastically cheered Microsoft's abandonment of a
| $42 billion bid. But a jog through the numbers, starting from before the
| software giant showed its hand, suggests that it's actually Microsoft that
| has emerged most damaged from the affair.
|
| The truth is, Microsoft shareholders were never entirely sold on the Yahoo
| takeover. At one point in early March, they had sliced more than $50 billion
| off the software giant's pre-bid market value.
|
| [...]
|
| Even after Monday's relief rally, Microsoft is worth some $24 billion less
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| than it was before it bid for Yahoo on Feb. 1.
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|
| [...]
|
| Microsoft's bid for Yahoo was seen by many as a signal the company recognized
its grip on the desktop may be slipping. That, more than anything else, may
account for the billions that have gone missing from Microsoft's value.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121002286060868719.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
"I’m thinking of hitting the OEMs harder than in the past with anti-Linux. ...
they should do a delicate dance"
--Joachim Kempin, Microsoft OEM Chief
Sales of the cash cows (Windows and Office) declined very significantly. Market
cap aside, cash balance is bad (see below).
All Microsoft can do now is use their puppets like Fitzpatrick at Fortune to
write self-praising articles and terrorise its #1 rival, GNU/Linux.
References are appended to back all the claims.
Yesterday:
Data: Cash balances at large tech companies
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft has reduced its legendary cash balance by tens of billions
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| of dollars in recent years through a series of buybacks, dividends and
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| acquisitions. The importance of cash was evident in the Microsoft-Yahoo saga:
| Had the Redmond company succeeded in the proposed $44.6 billion acquisition,
| it would have needed to borrow money for the first time in its history to
| fund the deal.
`----
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/138129.asp?source=rss
Recent:
Microsoft earnings post-mortem: The cash cows quiver
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
,----[ Quote ]
| I can’t help but wonder if the lackluster Windows/Office results also can be
| attributed to Microsoft brass’s complete and crazy obsession with Google (and
| taking over Yahoo) has resulted in no one minding the Windows store. Kevin
| Johnson, the head of Microsoft’s Platforms & Services division seems to be so
| laser-focused on the online-ad business these days that he almost seems to
| have forgotten Microsoft is still in the software business, too.
|
| Microsoft execs’ claims about walking away from the Yahoo deal are nothing
| more than bluster. A protracted hostile takeover bid is just going to
| distract not just employees in Microsoft’s online services business, but
| company management, too. It’s not a pretty picture.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1362
Feeling the heat at Microsoft
,----[ Quote ]
| If I ask you who is Microsoft's biggest competitor now, who would it be?
|
| Ballmer: Open...Linux. I don't want to say open source. Linux, certainly have
| to go with that.
`----
http://www.news.com/Feeling-the-heat-at-Microsoft/2008-1012_3-6232458.html?tag=ne.fd.mnbc
Microsoft's SEC:
,----[ Quote ]
| A prominent example of open source software is the Linux operating system...
| To the extent open source software gains increasing market acceptance, sales
| of our products may decline, we may have to reduce the prices we charge for
| our products, and revenue and operating margins may consequently decline.
`----
http://www. microsoft.com/msft/SEC/default.mspx
|
|
