Live data from Hacker News

Satya Nadella Added $850B to Microsoft

afr.com

71–80 of 138 posts

Re: Satya Nadella Added $850B to Microsoft

#71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, Ballmer did quite well at MS. He consistently increased earnings via Windows and Office during his tenure as CEO. He was a very good businessman. He was not, however, a product guy. Witness their failures with the Zune, mobile, early cloud computing. His problem was that he always tried to do what would be best for Microsoft and not the customer. You can get away with this if you already have an install bas…

I feel that reflects quite well Steve Jobs vs Tim Cook as well. Jobs just wanted to make 'insanely great' products [for their users], with the side effect of profit, while Tim Cook is probably fixated on efficiency and Shareholder value. Apple has had record profits and performance, but most will tell it's not the same and its future is not so certain. It seems paradoxical that trying to maximize shareholder value at…

Of course success with a vision often also includes a significant degree of luck and being in the right place at the right time. The iPod was just another MP3 player, albeit one with a certain style and design that captured lots of attention in spite of a premium price.

But it certainly wasn't ordained that Apple would parlay that into the runaway success of the iPhone.

Re: Satya Nadella Added $850B to Microsoft

#72
post #32

First: A stock can rise for reasons having zero to do with the reality of the business behind the stock, for example mispricing, availability or the lack thereof of alternative investments, inflation, currency devaluation etc. Second: To me it always leaves a very foul aftertaste when the achievements of a team are ascribed to whoever the visible front-person is. I find it hard to believe that among the other 149999…

Bill Gates built an amazing airplane. Steve Ballmer crashed it in the desert. Satya Nadella rallied the survivors, put it back together, and got it flying again. Yes, he absolutely deserves the credit just as Ballmer absolutely deserves the blame.

Actually Ballmer did many things correctly. There was an incorrect call / arrogance in approaching the mobile phone market a certain way, and delay in building something like their hardware organization. But I don't think this means Ballmer was a complete failure. Microsoft delivered stellar results in many dimensions during Ballmer's years as well.

Re: Satya Nadella Added $850B to Microsoft

#74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, Ballmer did quite well at MS. He consistently increased earnings via Windows and Office during his tenure as CEO. He was a very good businessman. He was not, however, a product guy. Witness their failures with the Zune, mobile, early cloud computing. His problem was that he always tried to do what would be best for Microsoft and not the customer. You can get away with this if you already have an install bas…

Windows. Vista. Ballmer was responsible for this blight upon humanity. How many human hour / lifetimes were wasted trying and failing to get things to work on Vista?

Vista was necessary. Forced people to upgrade devices. Introduced the security prompt - where everything doesn't run with admin privilege. Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 also came under Ballmer.

Re: Satya Nadella Added $850B to Microsoft

#75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, Ballmer did quite well at MS. He consistently increased earnings via Windows and Office during his tenure as CEO. He was a very good businessman. He was not, however, a product guy. Witness their failures with the Zune, mobile, early cloud computing. His problem was that he always tried to do what would be best for Microsoft and not the customer. You can get away with this if you already have an install bas…

I feel that reflects quite well Steve Jobs vs Tim Cook as well. Jobs just wanted to make 'insanely great' products [for their users], with the side effect of profit, while Tim Cook is probably fixated on efficiency and Shareholder value. Apple has had record profits and performance, but most will tell it's not the same and its future is not so certain. It seems paradoxical that trying to maximize shareholder value at…

I oversimplify both the MS and Apple examples as the "builder vs. caretaker" pendulum. Though Tim Cook could hold the reins for the next 10-20 years, I have no doubt that Apple will transition to another builder in the future. Once per generation? Every other generation? The computers (plural, laptops, PCs, phones, etc.) industry is still young.

Eight years post-Jobs, it remains to be seen what Apple's evolutionary thrust turns out to be, Amelio/Sculley. For now the market expectations (user desires) would seem to support innovation and design as a business priority.

Re: Satya Nadella Added $850B to Microsoft

#76
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bill Gates built an amazing airplane. Steve Ballmer crashed it in the desert. Satya Nadella rallied the survivors, put it back together, and got it flying again. Yes, he absolutely deserves the credit just as Ballmer absolutely deserves the blame.

Actually, Ballmer did quite well at MS. He consistently increased earnings via Windows and Office during his tenure as CEO. He was a very good businessman. He was not, however, a product guy. Witness their failures with the Zune, mobile, early cloud computing. His problem was that he always tried to do what would be best for Microsoft and not the customer. You can get away with this if you already have an install bas…

Among many things:

“500$? Fully subsidized? With the plan? That is the most expensive phone in the world” [0]

[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qycUOENFIBs

Re: Satya Nadella Added $850B to Microsoft

#77

> The company is the world's strongest supporter of the Linux open source coding system Citation needed. Also, a gentle reminder that Satya Nadella, as amazing as he might be, is not the sole reason why Microsoft's stock price has gone up.

Two ways to read it: the way you read it and "out of all the people who support Linux, MSFT is the strongest".

Re: Satya Nadella Added $850B to Microsoft

#78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Counter-counterpoint: but there's a lot less onstage dancing and screaming.

Counter-counter-counterpoint: That erased 850b in value. It could have been 1700b but Nadella doesn't dance or scream. Just stares angrily.

You leave IT Ghandi alone.

Re: Satya Nadella Added $850B to Microsoft

#79
post #70

Does anyone know what this $850,000,000,000.00 looks like in reality? Where was that value created? Did they sell that many more … what exactly? I am just trying to understand where that value is. Or was this essentially all stock buybacks that artificially inflate the "value" as established by the market cap? Ironically too is that when you control the MSFT market cap against the Trump inflated stock market, there i…

850 billion can be broken down by:

* Long term customers gained

* Goodwill created

* New products

All of this reduces to "discounted future revenue". Say you have a 10 year target on MSFT. Do you think MSFT will make $850 billion dollars more in the next ten years than they did in the last ten years? MSFT revenue has doubled in the last ten years. Even if it does not grow at all, they will earn around $1T in the next ten years as compared to (about) $800 billion in the last ten.

Edit: and if you DO think it will grow then perhaps $850B of value is perhaps the top line.

Post reply on HN