Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications

    Microsoft Holding Onto Stockpile—For Now

    By
    Peter Galli
    -
    July 24, 2003
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      REDMOND, Wash.—Microsoft made clear on Thursday that it has no intention of distributing any of its $62.7 billion cash-and-investment stockpile to shareholders until the legal risks posed to the company have been removed.

      Regarding reports that it was considering giving up to $10 billion of this back to shareholders through a dividend payment, Microsoft Corp. Chief Financial Officer John Connors said the company had declared its first-ever dividend in January and had repurchased $24 billion in stock over the past four years.

      “But we still have a number of outstanding legal issues, including from Sun Microsystems, the EU and shareholder class actions, and for us the biggest factor in any such decision is what is the business model risk to unresolved legal matters of significant consequence,” he said.

      In an unusual move, Connors detailed exactly how Microsofts cash and reserves are broken down. Its total portfolio of $62.7 billion is made up of a treasury-managed portfolio of $53.5 billion, with the balance held as a strategic portfolio. The majority of the funds, some $42.6 billion, are in short-term investments.

      In its treasury portfolio, 70 percent of the money is invested in fixed income, with 10 percent in equity (4 percent in foreign equity and 6 percent domestically) and 20 percent in cash. “The cash is necessary for opportunistic investments or payments we may need to make. In terms of the portfolio management, 75 percent is managed internally, with 25 percent managed externally,” he said.

      Regarding the future deployment of cash, Microsoft has three options: dividends, buybacks or a combination of both. “We dont have anything to announce today but until we have the legal risks and uncertainties behind us, we are not going to be making changes of the magnitude you have all been suggesting,” he told the financial analysts and investors present.

      Connors also used his talk to announce a number of new CFOs in Redmonds seven core business areas, including Alain Peracca, the CFO for the Client Group, who came from HP; Marc Chardon, who is CFO of the Information Worker business; and Peter Klein, the CFO for the server and tools group.

      Looking to fiscal 2004, Connors said the benefit of the shift in the mix toward Windows XP Professional would be less impactful than expected, while the company would also not have the benefit of the transition of users to its licensing 6.0 plan.

      Microsoft expects to see positive growth in PC and server units, assuming the global economy remains at current levels. It also anticipates good absolute growth and a margin improvement in its emerging businesses.

      Growth per business in the 2004 fiscal year is expected at around 6 percent for the Client, between 9 and 11 percent for the Information Worker business, the server and tools group is expected to grow between 8 and 12 percent, while business solutions is expecting growth of between 24 and 32 percent.

      But MSN is expected to fall between 4 percent and 7 percent as people move from narrow band to broadband. Its home and entertainment business is only expected to rise between 1 percent and 2 percent, Connors said.

      Avatar
      Peter Galli
      Peter Galli has been a financial/technology reporter for 12 years at leading publications in South Africa, the UK and the US. He has been Investment Editor of South Africa's Business Day Newspaper, the sister publication of the Financial Times of London.He was also Group Financial Communications Manager for First National Bank, the second largest banking group in South Africa before moving on to become Executive News Editor of Business Report, the largest daily financial newspaper in South Africa, owned by the global Independent Newspapers group.He was responsible for a national reporting team of 20 based in four bureaus. He also edited and contributed to its weekly technology page, and launched a financial and technology radio service supplying daily news bulletins to the national broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation, which were then distributed to some 50 radio stations across the country.He was then transferred to San Francisco as Business Report's U.S. Correspondent to cover Silicon Valley, trade and finance between the US, Europe and emerging markets like South Africa. After serving that role for more than two years, he joined eWeek as a Senior Editor, covering software platforms in August 2000.He has comprehensively covered Microsoft and its Windows and .Net platforms, as well as the many legal challenges it has faced. He has also focused on Sun Microsystems and its Solaris operating environment, Java and Unix offerings. He covers developments in the open source community, particularly around the Linux kernel and the effects it will have on the enterprise.He has written extensively about new products for the Linux and Unix platforms, the development of open standards and critically looked at the potential Linux has to offer an alternative operating system and platform to Windows, .Net and Unix-based solutions like Solaris.His interviews with senior industry executives include Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Linus Torvalds, the original developer of the Linux operating system, Sun CEO Scot McNealy, and Bill Zeitler, a senior vice president at IBM.For numerous examples of his writing you can search under his name at the eWEEK Website at www.eweek.com.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more
      eWeek


      Contact Us | About | Sitemap

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Information

      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×