>> revenue != profit The comparison you cited is between revenue, and is a fair direct comparison. But it is likely also true that iOS devices generate more p

>> revenue != profit The comparison you cited is between revenue, and is a fair direct comparison. But it is likely also true that iOS devices generate more profit than Microsoft's total revenue (this is an unfair comparison, biased in Microsoft's favor). >> a dividend paying company's stock price looks different from that of one which is focused on accumulating cash Both AAPL and MSFT have announced dividends (http://investor.apple.com/faq.cfm http://investor.apple.com/faq.cfm).