5 ms·

Can someone explain to me why is Ballmer still in charge, really? Please?

by dreen 13y ago

qompiler 13y ago
Because MSFT still makes enough profit every quarter.
- igravious 13y ago
  With those two (Windows and Office natch) cash cows a sufficiently tech-savvy bonobo could CEO Microsoft and turn a profit each and every quarter. Heck, even I could. The momentum that behemoth has must be unnatural. I don't think that this (quarterly profit or whatever) should be the metric by which Ballmer is judged. He should be judged on percentage of penetration into various market segments or something like that. So: consoles, yay; mobile, boo; desktop, yay (you can't beat a good monopoly); server, not so much; media forays, boo; net search, ho-hum; and so forth ...
  - girvo 13y ago
    > sufficiently tech-savvy bonobo So... Ballmer, then?
  - OGinparadise 13y ago
    With those two (Windows and Office natch) cash cows a sufficiently tech-savvy bonobo could CEO Microsoft and turn a profit each and every quarter. Heck, even I could. Sure you could. Even Apple and Jobs were lucky to beat you to the punch with the iPhone. Because Microsoft designed Windows and Office once, they have no competitors and are still selling the original product. No upgrade cycles, licensing decisions, dealing with the DOJ, EU etc, no competitors like Oracle, SAP, IBM, Google, Apple and you name it. It's really easy. Only a moron ignores Microsoft. They pay ~3+% a year in dividend, invest billions in R&D + new companies and still have some $60 Billion in cash. They are really struggling, as you can see http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=MSFT+Key+Statistics http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=MSFT+Key+Statistics. The stock for large caps goes back and forth, and the stock price upside is more or less limited by the their huge market cap.
  - skc 13y ago
    So, fun fact. Ballmer has taken Microsoft from two cash cows...to roughly six in his time frame as CEO. Take a look at how many billion dollar businesses have come to fruition under his tenure. You might be surprised. The guy gets a bad rap, but its annoying that people want to blame him for the things that are wrong with Microsoft but won't give him credit for the things he's done right.
    - igravious 13y ago
      Sorry, wasn't keeping an eye on replies - I just kind of threw my original comment out into the ether. I'd like to ask you though. What are the other 4 (5? 3? you said roughly) cash cows do you reckon, and in all seriousness are any of them even close in scale to Windows/Office? Honestly, I mean :)
arrrg 13y ago
Can't argue with the money Microsoft is making. I don't think there are many investors who expect Microsoft to be the bleeding edge. It's a stable, boring money maker. It might stop making money at some point, but not suddenly.
Ovid 13y ago
I've always thought of him as "Steve 'why do I still have my job?' Balmer".
OGinparadise 13y ago
I thought so too until I looked at MS's number over his tenure. Amazing growth and lots of money returned to shareholders. They may not get the press but they are minting cash and entering new businesses every year. They have over a dozen $1billion+ a year businesses. Oh, and Bill Gates wants him there. And Ballmer is a major shareholder to boot.
- dreen 13y ago
  He has 4%, is this considered major? I know its still a lot.
  - OGinparadise 13y ago
    Major as is 4% of the vote for a compnay valued at almost $280 Billion is decided by ONE person. Add that of Bill Gates, Bill's foundation, maybe Paul Allen and it ads up. The point was mostly that virtually all his fortune is tied with Microsoft so he has skin in the game. He can still be delusional and risk even his own fortune but still...

Can someone explain to me why is Ballmer still in charge, really? Please?

by dreen 13y ago

Can someone explain to me why is Ballmer still in charge, really? Please?

qompiler 13y ago

Because MSFT still makes enough profit every quarter.

igravious 13y ago
With those two (Windows and Office natch) cash cows a sufficiently tech-savvy bonobo could CEO Microsoft and turn a profit each and every quarter. Heck, even I could. The momentum that behemoth has must be unnatural. I don't think that this (quarterly profit or whatever) should be the metric by which Ballmer is judged. He should be judged on percentage of penetration into various market segments or something like that. So: consoles, yay; mobile, boo; desktop, yay (you can't beat a good monopoly); server, not so much; media forays, boo; net search, ho-hum; and so forth ...
- girvo 13y ago
  > sufficiently tech-savvy bonobo So... Ballmer, then?
- OGinparadise 13y ago
  With those two (Windows and Office natch) cash cows a sufficiently tech-savvy bonobo could CEO Microsoft and turn a profit each and every quarter. Heck, even I could. Sure you could. Even Apple and Jobs were lucky to beat you to the punch with the iPhone. Because Microsoft designed Windows and Office once, they have no competitors and are still selling the original product. No upgrade cycles, licensing decisions, dealing with the DOJ, EU etc, no competitors like Oracle, SAP, IBM, Google, Apple and you name it. It's really easy. Only a moron ignores Microsoft. They pay ~3+% a year in dividend, invest billions in R&D + new companies and still have some $60 Billion in cash. They are really struggling, as you can see http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=MSFT+Key+Statistics http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=MSFT+Key+Statistics. The stock for large caps goes back and forth, and the stock price upside is more or less limited by the their huge market cap.
- skc 13y ago
  So, fun fact. Ballmer has taken Microsoft from two cash cows...to roughly six in his time frame as CEO. Take a look at how many billion dollar businesses have come to fruition under his tenure. You might be surprised. The guy gets a bad rap, but its annoying that people want to blame him for the things that are wrong with Microsoft but won't give him credit for the things he's done right.
  - igravious 13y ago
    Sorry, wasn't keeping an eye on replies - I just kind of threw my original comment out into the ether. I'd like to ask you though. What are the other 4 (5? 3? you said roughly) cash cows do you reckon, and in all seriousness are any of them even close in scale to Windows/Office? Honestly, I mean :)

arrrg 13y ago

Can't argue with the money Microsoft is making. I don't think there are many investors who expect Microsoft to be the bleeding edge. It's a stable, boring money maker. It might stop making money at some point, but not suddenly.

Ovid 13y ago

I've always thought of him as "Steve 'why do I still have my job?' Balmer".

OGinparadise 13y ago

I thought so too until I looked at MS's number over his tenure. Amazing growth and lots of money returned to shareholders. They may not get the press but they are minting cash and entering new businesses every year. They have over a dozen $1billion+ a year businesses. Oh, and Bill Gates wants him there. And Ballmer is a major shareholder to boot.

dreen 13y ago
He has 4%, is this considered major? I know its still a lot.
- OGinparadise 13y ago
  Major as is 4% of the vote for a compnay valued at almost $280 Billion is decided by ONE person. Add that of Bill Gates, Bill's foundation, maybe Paul Allen and it ads up. The point was mostly that virtually all his fortune is tied with Microsoft so he has skin in the game. He can still be delusional and risk even his own fortune but still...