Microsoft announced its second quarter earnings earlier today, and as expected analysts were quick to weigh in on how they believed the technology titan has performed in the past three months.
And needless to say, the stark figures have afforded the market watchers an opportunity to point some fingers at Redmond’s recent strategy.
The $900 million loss caused by the Surface RT made headlines. And according to Brendan Barnicle, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, this is one of the biggest misses ever for the technology giant.
Talking to The Frontier Post, Barnicle added:
“That’s the biggest miss we’ve ever seen from Microsoft, the biggest that I could remember. It looks like everything was weak. Microsoft can’t charge $100 per device for Windows the way they could 20 years ago.”
To be fair, a lot of things were different 20 years ago — the technology scenario has radically changed in the past few years. Apple essentially gives away its operating systems, and Android, obviously is offered with a freeware license.
Microsoft’s CFO, Amy Hood has nevertheless, admitted that Windows is losing some ground. But the senior executive explained that the company is now going through a transformation period — one that could take some time.
This essentially means that maker analysts will be keeping a close eye on every major move that Microsoft makes in the next year or so as the company strategizes to turn itself into a devices and services firm.
