Microsoft is risking an $18 billion empire on Windows 8 |
| CNNMoney - Oct 25, 2012 |
Windows has been Microsoft's most reliable cash cow for nearly three decades. The software giant is gambling all of that success on what it deems to be the company's future: a radically redesigned Windows 8.
Windows is the linchpin of Microsoft's empire. Without a significant design overhaul since 1995, the operating system has been essentially printing money for Microsoft. Last year, Windows brought in more than $18 billion in sales and $11.5 billion in profit. On its own, Windows would be big enough to place among the largest 150 U.S. companies by revenue, and its 62% profit margin would rank among the highest in the world.
But the Windows money tree is beginning to wilt. PC sales are slumping. Windows revenue has fallen for two straight years, and Microsoft is missing out on a rapidly growing tablet market that has begun to eat away at traditional computer demand. Just a few years ago, Windows ran about 90% of the world's Internet-connected computing devices, according to Net Applications. Now, with the rise of smartphones and tablets, Microsoft's share has fallen to about two-thirds.
Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) alone has sold more than 100 million iPads in just two and a half years. At an event held Tuesday unveiling a new line of iPads, Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that his company shipped more iPads in the second quarter of 2012 than any single PC manufacturer shipped PCs.
Read Full Article from CNNMoney
- Posted: 2012-10-25 15:07:02
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