Microsoft Stares Down Economic Barrel
Steve Ballmer is warning Wall Street that our miserable economy can and probably will impact Microsoft. The biggest threats? The PC market is down and Microsoft still struggles with search. Server software, which had been booming, may soon be bombing as IT holds off on upgrades.
Ballmer believes that the money that has left the economy won't simply come back during a recovery, but that we will "reset" at a lower level. For Microsoft, that means future profits may not be as big as we're all used to.
My guess? Microsoft may actually see a quarter or three of actual losses. However, it's still sitting on some $20 billion in cash and the strongest overall product portfolio the market has ever seen. Microsoft will be just fine. Agree, disagree? Send your economic projections to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on February 25, 2009