Bekker's Blog

Blog archive

Sympathy for Microsoft?

Back when Microsoft had a reputation as the Evil Empire, Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen was the poster child for someone who had been oppressed by Redmond. Which is why it's remarkable to hear Andreessen expressing what sounds like some sympathy for Microsoft right now.

In a recap of the attitude toward a tech bubble among the tech glitterati at last week's All Things Digital Conference, Mark Veverka on SmartMoney wrote:

"Indeed, Andreessen went on a tirade about how low the price/earnings ratios for the tech behemoths are. Microsoft has a forward-looking P/E of 8.63 times. Cisco Systems' P/E is 9.25. 'P/Es in single-digits are what steel mills trade at before they go out of business,' Andreessen quipped. 'What these things tell me is the public market hates tech. It's tremendously scarred by 10 years ago.'"

None of which is to say that, in his heart of hearts, Andreessen wouldn't love to see Microsoft continue to suffer for its efforts at "cutting off Netscape's air supply."

Meanwhile, another SmartMoney post listed the top six cash piles among publicly traded U.S. companies. Microsoft is still on top, although once the $8.5 billion Skype purchase is completed, Microsoft's total may drop below both Google and Apple. The net cash totals are Microsoft $38 billion, Google $36.7 billion, Apple $29 billion and Cisco Systems $27 billion.

Posted by Scott Bekker on June 08, 2011


Featured

  • Microsoft Appoints Althoff as New CEO for Commercial Business

    Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella on Wednesday announced the promotion of Judson Althoff to CEO of the company's commercial business, presenting the move as a response to the dramatic industrywide shifts caused by AI.

  • Broadcom Revamps VMware Partner Program Again

    Broadcom recently announced a significant update regarding its VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program, coinciding with the release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, a key component in Broadcom’s private cloud strategy.

  • Closeup of the new Copilot keyboard key

    Microsoft Updates Copilot To Add Context-Sensitive Agents to Teams, SharePoint

    Microsoft has rolled out a new public preview for collaborative "always on" agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot, bringing enhanced, context-aware tools into Teams channels, meetings, SharePoint sites, Planner workstreams and Viva Engage communities.

  • Windows 365 Cloud Apps Now Available for Public Preview

    Microsoft announced this week that Windows 365 Cloud Apps are now available for public preview. This aims to allow IT administrators to stream individual Windows applications from the cloud, removing the need to assign Cloud PCs to every user.