7 Reasons Why Microsoft is DOOMED!: I don’t normally post things like this, but I read it, and somehow I can’t argue with the guy’s logic.
Name one area where Microsoft is really innovating anymore. The Zune was a bust; the XBox is getting beaten by the Wii on price, and the PS2 on graphics; Vista is not taking off nearly as fast as they hoped; Office is being challenged like never before, etc.
Microsoft really isn’t the clear leader in anything but their diminishing market share in desktop OS and productivity software. Yes, this is still substantial, but this isn’t going to last forever.
All this has taken a toll on their stock price:
Their stock isn’t rising any more. - This is not to say “this week”, but rather over the last seven years. This chart shows a clear picture. You see the stock value climbing steadily until right at the year 2000 – then it fell gradually and has puttered along at a level rate ever since.
Look at the chart – Microsoft’s stock price has indeed been stagnant for five or six years, starting around the period where Google broke out and the iPod showed up.
I would ask, “When do we see layoffs at Microsoft?” but the fact remains that they’re still sitting on $29 billion in cash. That’s a lot. Or is it?
I’m not going to sit here and say that Microsoft is doomed. But they do look like they’re rapidly getting shouldering in on from all sides. Microsoft needs a big hit – an iPod-like hit. I don’t see anything like this on the horizon.