THE REASONS :
1) The servers and tools division is now a $15 billion business
All the attention on Microsoft is focused on its two big cash cows, Windows and Office, but its servers and tools business is also impressive. For the 2010 fiscal year the division did $15 billion in sales and $5.5 billion in operating income. That’s just $3 billion less in revenue than Windows, and about half the operating income
2) It’s not just the server business, Microsoft has 11 billion dollar businesses
Here’s something very few companies can say. Microsoft has 11 billion dollar revenue business lines. Todd Bishop at TechFlash rounded them all up:
Windows
Office
Servers
Xbox
SQL Server
System Center
Unified Communications (Exchange)
SharePoint
Developer Tools (Visual Studio)
Dynamics (ERP & CRM)
Online Advertising (display & search)
3) Xbox and Xbox Live are a big money makers now
One current Microsoftie boasted about the success of Xbox Live to us. For the twelve months ended June 30, 2010, operating income in the Entertainment and Devices division, where Xbox resides, is $679 million. That’s really good. And it could get better. Microsoft’s Xbox Live sales probably topped $1 billion. And analysts think the Xbox motion system, Kinect could drum up $1 billion in sales.
Further, Xbox gives Microsoft entry to the living room. This is something Apple and Google have not yet pulled off. Google TV and Apple TV are attempts to crack the market.
4) Windows is expected to keep blowing the doors off
After Microsoft’s big earnings crush last week, Jefferies analyst Katherine Egbert called the company a buy and said she expects double digit growth for the Windows franchise for the next two years
5) Bing is making Google look bad
We think Bing is toast. We also think Microsoft needs to stop burning so much cash online. We don’t think Bing is going to take significant share from Google.
BUT! We think Bing has impressively forced Google’s hand repeatedly. The most embarrassingly obvious move was when Google added Bing-like backgrounds to its main Google.com search page. Google also quickly announced Twitter integration after Bing, and redesigned its layout to steal some flair from Bing, too.
6) Microsoft treats its employees amazingly
We asked one ex-Microsoftie what the company does well. Here’s the response. Treat this as an anecdote, since we didn’t bother getting Google to confirm or deny (assumed Google would deny):
“They do give employees great benefits. I know of a specific incident where some ex-MSFTs left MS to work at google Seattle and they complained to Eric Schmidt that Google’s benefits (real benefits like medical, dental, eye) were way behind MSFT. When Eric went back to look at the the cost of matching MSFT in Seattle, he decided against it since it would have increased their Seattle office insurance costs by $2 million. This is something that is much overlooked by the press. Google may give free lunches, but at MSFT, I never had to pay out of pocket for anything (medical, prescription, etc).”
7) Microsoft is loaded with really smart people and big talents
Any time we’ve talked to anyone about Microsoft inside, outside, former, or current, we’ve always heard the place is filled with smart, talented people. Some of them might be trapped due to the internal politics of the place, but it’s definitely a positive.
The company also makes training people a priority according to one ex-employee, and “They also allow employees to move around into different groups and they do not have that ‘engineer vs. the other employees’ mentality that Google has. “
8) Microsoft is about to get back into the phone business
Windows Phone 7 looks like it’s pretty good. Better than the iPhone? Better than Android? Early reviews say no and no. But, Microsoft’s phone is innovative, it’s not just a rip of the iOS format. And with Xbox Live, Office, and Zune integration, Microsoft could have a really neat all-in-one package on its hands that rivals Apple and Google.
The trick here is that Microsoft is playing comeback kid, and it’s not going to be a big cash cow because the price it can charge for its software is pretty low. So, it’s an exciting product, but it’s not clear how exciting a business it will be.
9) There’s 1.1 billion people using Microsoft products. That’s one in 6 people on this planet.
Microsoft apologists have lately tried to say that Microsoft is a great enterprise company, but not so much a consumer company. A Microsoft rep dismisses that. He points out Microsoft has over 1.1 billion Windows users which is more than Apple and Google combined. Not to mention there’s plenty of Xbox and Bing users.
10) Revenue is growing, profits are growing, and it has a pile of cash
Finally, the most impressive thing about Microsoft is its fortress of a balance sheet. Operating income is growing, revenue is growing, and then there’s its massive pile of cash
So, why is the stock stuck in neutral? And why does everyone want Ballmer canned?
Here’s the thing. We can talk about how many things Microsoft is doing right until we’re blue in the face. The problem is Microsoft is stuck in a cloudy position. And that’s giving the haters plenty of fuel:
In mobile, even if it’s successful, it will not generate big sales or profits.
Windows and Office are under attack from Google and Apple. They look like they’ll be fine for now, but in five years, who knows. That’s enough doubt to keep investors weary.
It insists on burning BILLIONS on a foolish pursuit of search that probably won’t ever pay off.
The company has over-hired. There’s no reason to have 90,000+ employees. It’s clogging up the works.
Ballmer has put the wrong people in charge of divisions, says an ex-Microsoftie.
Hey, any company that could produce a Zune can’t be all bad.
;)
1) The servers and tools division is now a $15 billion business
True, Microsoft has come a LONG way in the last decade. Their server platforms and tools are now pretty good. There are still some headaches, but nothing's perfect.
3) Xbox and Xbox Live are a big money makers now
Good, then maybe you can cut the costs for us. But big money makers = continued platform support, so that's good. And the quality control and defective design issues are long solved, which makes the Xbox a good buy now.
4) Windows is expected to keep blowing the doors off
Yep, After almost a decade of trying, Microsoft finally got a worthy successor to XP, and one that's almost as good as its target, OS X. Microsoft needs to remember to lead a moving target, not shoot at where it is now.
5) Bing is making Google look bad
Ain't competition great?
8) Microsoft is about to get back into the phone business
Please, no, unless it's worlds better than before.
6) Microsoft treats its employees amazingly
As an aside, this is true as long as you're actually a full employee, which isn't so easy. Microsoft loves to use and abuse temps though.