| From: Don Green | 6/8/2021 4:50:04 PM | | | | | | Microsoft pulls all future Windows 10 updates - for now
Microsoft has said it is pausing the rollout of preview Windows 10 updates for the foreseeable future as it possibly gears up for the reveal of something big.
The company has said no more preview builds of Windows 10 21H2 will be released over the next few weeks, meaning users won't receive any early looks at new features, services or tools.
The news comes as Microsoft is heavily expected to unveil the next generation of its software, possibly called Windows 11, at an event on June 24.
techradar.com |
| | Microsoft Corp. - Moderated (MSFT) | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Don Green | 6/12/2021 8:53:00 PM | | | | | | Windows 10 was supposed to be the last version of the operating system — here’s why Microsoft might have changed its mind.
Just before Microsoft released Windows 10, an employee said the operating system would be the last version of Windows.Some people expect Microsoft to introduce Windows 11, though.
There are good reasons for Microsoft to roll out a major update, rather than another incremental enhancement to Windows 10.Just before Microsoft released Windows 10, an employee said the operating system would be the last version of Windows.Some people expect Microsoft to introduce Windows 11, though.
There are good reasons for Microsoft to roll out a major update, rather than another incremental enhancement to Windows 10.
cnbc.com |
| | Microsoft Corp. - Moderated (MSFT) | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Don Green | 6/14/2021 12:05:43 PM | | | | | | | | | | Microsoft will end Windows 10 support in October 2025
K. Holt|06.14.21
@krisholt
 Shannon Stapleton / r
Microsoft has revealed when it will put Windows 10 out to pasture. It will stop support for the current operating system on October 14th, 2025. That means Microsoft expects the transition to the next version of Windows, which it will show off on June 24th, to take around four years.
The company quietly announced the news in a support page update, as spotted by Thurrott. Previously, the page noted when Microsoft would end support for certain versions of Windows 10. It now states Microsoft started supporting Windows 10 Home and Pro on July 29th, 2015 and reveals the operating system's "retirement date." The end-of-support timeline puts the Windows 10 lifecycle at a hair over 10 years, similar to previous iterations of the OS.
As for what we're expecting from Windows 11 (or whatever it's called), there will probably be a redesign, including a revamped Windows Store. Microsoft recently canceled Windows 10X, which was initially going to be for dual-screen devices. It said it would bring some features planned for that OS into the standard version of Windows. Perhaps that'll make it easier for manufacturers and developers to support dual-screen devices without having to work with a separate version of Windows. |
|
| | Microsoft Corp. - Moderated (MSFT) | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Don Green | 6/16/2021 8:18:18 PM | | | | | | Microsoft names CEO Nadella to chair the board
Jun. 16, 2021 8:10 PM ET Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) By: Jason Aycock, SA News Editor
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) CEO Satya Nadella has been named chair of the board.Nadella was a unanimous selection of the independent directors, and he takes over the chair from John Thompson, former CEO of Symantec.Thompson will resume the role of lead independent director, which he held from 2012-2014 (at which time he replaced Bill Gates as chair while Nadella replaced Steve Ballmer as CEO)."In this role, Nadella will lead the work to set the agenda for the board, leveraging his deep understanding of the business to elevate the right strategic opportunities and identify key risks and mitigation approaches for the board's review," Microsoft says."As lead independent director, Thompson will retain significant authority including providing input on behalf of the independent directors on board agendas, calling meetings of the independent directors, setting agendas for executive sessions, and leading performance evaluations of the CEO." |
| | Microsoft Corp. - Moderated (MSFT) | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Don Green | 6/22/2021 6:00:49 PM | | | | | | | The stakes for Microsoft's Windows update | 
Data: Statcounter Global Stats; Chart: Axios Visuals
While there are many ways Microsoft could improve Windows, a key area is helping people work across multiple devices, including smartphones, writes Axios chief tech correspondent Ina Fried.
The company is unveiling a new version of Windows on Thursday. The big picture: The long-term health of its business still depends on a thriving Windows ecosystem.
|
|
| | Microsoft Corp. - Moderated (MSFT) | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last ReadRead Replies (1) |
|
| To: Don Green who wrote (19555) | 6/22/2021 6:02:53 PM | | From: Don Green | | | | Microsoft becomes second U.S. firm to pass $2 trillion market cap
Microsoft reached a $2 trillion market capitalization in trading Tuesday, joining a small group of global companies that have crossed that threshold — including Apple.
The technology giant is now the second publicly traded U.S. company to reach a $2 trillion market valuation. Apple reached its own $2 trillion market cap back in August 2020.
Despite hitting $2 trillion in intraday trading on Tuesday, Microsoft's valuation was about $300 million shy of the high-water mark by the time markets closed. Its share price is currently sitting at $265.51 as of 5:23 p.m. Eastern time.
Like Apple, Microsoft has benefitted from the work-from-home and remote education boom created as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Since March 2020, when lockdowns began, Microsoft's stock has surged 64%.
Back in April, the company reported that its sales had risen 19% year-over-year to $41.7 billion in the first quarter of 2020.
As of writing, Apple's market valuation standards at $2.24 trillion. Some analysts believe the Cupertino tech giant could become the first to hit a $3 trillion market cap within a few years.
Along with the technology giants, oil company Saudi Aramco also once surpassed the $2 trillion mark. On Tuesday, its market valuation was $1.88 trillion. |
| | Microsoft Corp. - Moderated (MSFT) | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Don Green | 6/23/2021 5:49:54 PM | | | | | | Microsoft: $2 Trillion Is Just The Beginning
Jun. 23, 2021 8:51 AM ET Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) 33 Comments15 Likes
SummaryMicrosoft is only the second US-based company to ever reach the $2 trillion valuation, joining Apple in the select club.I list below three reasons why Microsoft's financial performance and stock have been seemingly unshakeable in the past several years.A reasonable long-term PEG of 2.0x and rock-solid balance sheet further justify the investment, in my view.Looking for a helping hand in the market? Members of Storm-Resistant Growth get exclusive ideas and guidance to navigate any climate. Learn More »
 wdstock/iStock Editorial via Getty ImagesIt took ten months for another US-based tech giant to reach the $2 trillion valuation. After Apple ( AAPL) achieved the feat in August 2020, Microsoft ( MSFT) justified my label of "top FAAMG pick in 2021" and ended the June 22 trading session right at the $2 trillion mark (rounded to the nearest billion).
It is understandable that, at fresh all-time highs and testing the milestone level for the first time ever, some might feel uneasy about investing in this stock into strength. For instance, MSFT has handily topped the YTD performance of its key peers, AAPL and Amazon ( AMZN), as well as those of the broad market (see chart below).
However, I believe that Microsoft lends itself best for sustainable growth that is more predictable than its peers, a plus for long-term investors even at peak prices and fairly rich valuations.
 Data by YCharts
Microsoft Stock: $2 Trillion Valuation Is Just The Beginning (NASDAQ:MSFT) | Seeking Alpha |
| | Microsoft Corp. - Moderated (MSFT) | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last ReadRead Replies (1) |
|
| To: Don Green who wrote (19557) | 6/25/2021 1:07:24 PM | | From: Sr K | | | | Microsoft’s Windows 11: The Big New PC Features Coming This Year
A redesigned interface, new productivity features and the ability to run Android apps are all key to Microsoft’s plan to give PCs a fresh ‘Start’—and take on Google and Apple
Windows 11: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on the New ‘Start’ of the PC (Exclusive)
0:00 / 7:29
Windows 11: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on the New ‘Start’ of the PC (Exclusive)
Windows 11, due out later this year, is full of new features, including a new Start menu that's been moved to the center and a Microsoft Store with Android apps. In an exclusive interview, WSJ’s Joanna Stern spoke with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella about the software, the influence of the pandemic and his strategy of competing with Google and Apple. Photo illustration: Alex Kuzoian/The Wall Street Journal
By
Joanna Stern
Updated June 25, 2021 11:07 am ET
You don’t have to be a Microsoft historian to see the ping-pong pattern:
Windows XP — Hit!
Windows Vista — Flop.
Windows 7 — Hit!
Windows 8 — Flop.
Windows 10 — Hit!
If you were playing the odds, you’d bet Windows 11, announced Thursday, would flop. But what I’ve seen so far of Windows 11 looks smart. Plus, Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella, in an exclusive interview, joked that 11 is a lucky number.
While the Windows 11 interface has been redesigned, it’s more a fresh coat of paint than a complete remodel. Yes, Microsoft has moved the Start button to the bottom center, but, don’t you worry, you can always put it back in the left corner. There are loads of new productivity features, too, and the headline feature: Android apps!
Amazon (yes, that Amazon) is bringing its Android app store to the new Microsoft Store, and Windows 11 PCs themselves will be able to run the software, regardless of the chip that powers them.
Exc. |
| | Microsoft Corp. - Moderated (MSFT) | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Sr K | 7/27/2021 6:44:56 PM | | | | | | Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the company's Teams workplace collaboration software continues to enjoy strong uptake, now with nearly 250 million active monthly users.
Its Teams enterprise phone business, he said, also is seeing strong growth. That is a category Zoom Video Communications has identified as a key growth area.
On an earnings call, Mr. Nadella said, "We have nearly 80 million monthly active Teams phone users." |
| | Microsoft Corp. - Moderated (MSFT) | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Don Green | 7/28/2021 10:33:25 AM | | | | | | Microsoft tops $60 billion in annual earnings for the first time to cap record-breaking year
Microsoft stock initially declined despite blowing away expectations, but headed slightly higher after executives said they expect the growth to continue in the first quarter of new fiscal year
Microsoft Corp. released fiscal fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday afternoon.Associated Press
Microsoft Corp. finished yet another record-breaking year with more than $60 billion in profit and $165 billion in sales, showing why it has become only the second $2 trillion company in U.S. stock market history, and shares turned around after it projected more growth.
Microsoft MSFT, +1.14% on Tuesday reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $16.46 billion, or $2.17 a share, up from $1.46 a share a year ago. The maker of Windows and other software products divulged revenue of $46.15 billion, a quarterly record and up from $38.03 billion in the year-ago quarter.
“Our results show that when we execute well and meet customers’ needs in differentiated ways in large and growing markets, we generate growth, as we’ve seen in our commercial cloud – and in new franchises we’ve built, including gaming, security, and LinkedIn, all of which surpassed $10 billion in annual revenue over the past three years,” Chief Executive Satya Nadella said in a statement.
Analysts on average had expected earnings of $1.92 a share on sales of $44.22 billion, according to FactSet. Microsoft shares fell 3% in after-hours trading immediately following the release of the results, after falling 0.9% to $286.54 in regular trading on a tough day for tech stocks, but turned around to a small gain later in the extended session following an upbeat forecast shared in Tuesday’s conference call. The stock was up 1.5% premarket Wednesday.
For the full year, Microsoft totaled $61.27 billion in profit on sales of $168.09 billion, both easily exceeding the records established in its previous fiscal year. The gains exceeded expectations at the beginning of the year, as Microsoft’s cloud-computing and -software offerings found needy customers in employers scrambling to move to a work-from-home setup due to the COVID-19 pandemic and expected to continue to shift to online options.
“It is abundantly clear that Microsoft is well-positioned to continue to benefit from a number of secular trends powering IT spending today, including the greater focus on digital transformation and the accelerating shift to the cloud,” Evercore ISI software analysts wrote earlier this month in a preview of the sector.
All of Microsoft’s segments produced better growth than analysts expected in the final three months of the company’s fiscal year, which included the launch of a new Xbox and a new version of Windows. “Productivity and business processes,” which comprises most of Microsoft’s cloud-software offerings, grew to $14.69 billion in sales from $11.75 billion a year ago, topping analysts’ average expectations of $13.93 billion. “More Personal Computing,” the traditional PC business, grew to $14.09 billion from $12.91 billion, beating the average analyst forecast of $13.78 billion.
The biggest segment for Microsoft was “Intelligent Cloud,” which wraps in its Azure cloud-computing offering with sales of servers and other equipment needed for a hybrid-cloud setup. Microsoft reported record quarterly sales of $17.38 billion in that segment, up from $13.37 billion a year ago and beating the average analyst estimate of $16.39 billion. The company said that Azure sales grew by 51%, easily topping the average analyst estimate of 44.7%; unlike cloud rivals Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, +0.72% and Alphabet Inc. GOOGL, +4.55% GOOG, +1.84%, Microsoft does not break out raw numbers for its cloud-computing offering.
Analysts expect growth to continue in Microsoft’s new fiscal year, predicting ahead of the report that profit will grow to more than $63 billion and sales will increase to $186.74 billion in the 2022 fiscal year.
“As we move into FY22, we think Microsoft’s fundamentals are likely as strong at any point in recent history,” Rosenblatt Securities analyst John McPeake, who has a buy rating and $333 price target on the stock, wrote in a note ahead of the numbers. “We think Azure continues to take share, demand for PCs remains robust,
and Office, Teams, and Dynamics likely continue to grow in the double digits.”
Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said Tuesday that Microsoft expects to keep growing. Hood forecast revenue of $43.3 billion to $44.2 billion in the fiscal first quarter, which topped analysts’ average expectations for sales of $42.5 billion and would reflect growth of at least 16.5% from the same quarter last year.
Hood expects $16.4 billion to $16.65 billion for “Intelligent Cloud”; $14.5 billion to $14.75 billion for “Productivity and business processes”; and $12.4 billion to $12.8 billion for the “More Personal Computing” segment, which will be impacted by a $300 million Windows 11 deferral to the second quarter. Those ranges beat analysts’ estimates for all but the PC segment, which was in-line due to the deferral.
While Microsoft did not provide a full-year forecast, Hood did say their outlook for fiscal 2022 “reflects healthy double-digit revenue and operating income growth” that “results in expanded operating margins.” And she also provided insight on Azure growth moving forward, which Microsoft has not done in the past.
“In constant currency, Azure revenue growth should remain relatively stable on a sequential basis,” Hood noted, suggesting that the growth of more than 50% from Azure could continue.
For investors who trust that Microsoft will continue to grow, the question is whether its stock price will follow. Microsoft has already reached a $2 trillion market cap this year thanks to 2021 growth of 28.6%, easily outpacing the 17.7% growth of the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.13% and 14.8% increase of the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.06%, which counts Microsoft as a component.
For Evercore ISI’s software analysts, the answer is clear: Just keep on posting huge growth numbers, and the stock will respond.
“The easy answer to how Microsoft continues to outperform the S&P is that Microsoft continues to deliver double-digit top AND bottom line growth,” wrote the analysts, who have an outperform rating and $300 price target on Microsoft shares. |
| | Microsoft Corp. - Moderated (MSFT) | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last ReadRead Replies (1) |
|
| |
