Get Quote: MSFT
Financials: Latest Results
Rank: 37 (Previous rank: 38)
CEO: Steven A. Ballmer
Was this company a 2011 top stock?
Redmond is preparing for what may well prove to be its biggest launch year since the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up" blared across American TV screens in 1995. Microsoft rebounded from the disastrous 2007 Windows Vista launch with Windows 7, which has been a spectacular success. (Some 40% of enterprise desktops worldwide run Windows 7.) Now, it is preparing to release Windows 8 which, unlike 7, will be a total reboot for the operating system, including a radical new interface design dubbed Metro. The launch will unify the look and feel of various Microsoft products from PCs and tablets to telephones and the Xbox gaming console.
But Microsoft has changed. Though the operating system business is healthy, it now makes up a smaller share of the company's profits. It grew units including its server and tools group and took in more from online advertising. But the company faces challenges: its entertainment division struggled as the market for video games softened and the much-touted Windows Phone 7 handsets have yet to sell as well as Microsoft would like them to.
