“For the first time that I can remember, Microsoft closed the quarter with less cash than Apple. Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments for Microsoft add up to $20.7 billion. Apple, meanwhile, closed the quarter with $24.5 billion,” Dean Takahashi reports for VentureBeat.
“Microsoft doesn’t even have enough cash to buy Yahoo! outright; it would likely have to finance an acquisition with some debt,” Takahashi reports.
“I never thought I would see this day,” Takahashi reports.
MacDailyNews Take: We did.
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Ken” and “Chuckles the Microsoft CEO” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Note: “The economic downturn may present extraordinary opportunities to companiess that have cash. Cash is king. We are very comfortable with cash in bank and it is not burning a hole in our pocket.” – Apple CEO Steve Jobs, October 21, 2008
When will it be possible for Apple to buy Microsoft?
Why buy a broken company?
@ Olternaut:
Who would want Microsoft?
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To be fair, Microsoft pays a dividend and has repurchased shares. Apple has done neither. Nevertheless, the news is stunning.
I agree. Put that thought down and back away slowly.
so much for marketshare , eh ?
Olternaut writes, “When will it be possible for Apple to buy Microsoft?” Are you INSANE? Are you as likely to throw your own cash down the toilet?
One buys a company intending to profit, to gain a return on one’s investment. Microsoft’s profit comes from Windows and Office. It has little technology or intellectual property of value. So either one continues the company “as is”, with all its negatives, or you shut it down out of spite and lose the profit stream. Make up your mind.
Microsoft is a competitor, in both the business and value sense. I once suggested I might buy one share of Microsoft, then hope I lose money on it. I want to see it fade into irrelevancy. Buying Microsoft only rewards their shareholders and makes the buyer the loser.
And Microsoft has made zero progress (gone backwards even?) with its marketing campaign, so it may have to spend another billion to get that right…
It’s not the end of the beginning, but it sure as hell is the end of the beginning…
Make that beginning at the beginning the end. No, the beginning of the end of the beg… Oh crap – forget it…
It all came from the Apple Tax
That picture of Ballmer says, “Question me again and I will crush you with my firm yet supple man-breasts. DO IT! DO IT NOW!”
Sweeet! And it’s not even my money! 😀
“To be fair, Microsoft pays a dividend and has repurchased shares. Apple has done neither. Nevertheless, the news is stunning.”
Microsoft pays a dividend and spend over 120 billion to repurchase shares……. and their value per share is still in the toilet.
Nuff said..
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PS. Does Microsoft have any actual assets??? Apple owns a bunch of stores… at least I think they do. Of do they just lease?
Just a question.
en
“To be fair, Microsoft pays a dividend and has repurchased shares”
Uh, they pay a very small dividend on a stock that simply is not growing…that’s how they get their daily volume. And, do the research on how many shares they actually repurchased. It was just an announcement to boost their stock to the sheep. The dividend is the only thing keeping the sheep around. The grass is alot greener at AAPL now.
@ElderNorm and @CD:
One can profit from owning a stock by appreciation and/or from dividends. The fact that MSFT pays a dividend and APPL doesn’t partially offsets the tremendous difference in appreciation between the two stocks. Furthermore the dividend payments have certainly reduced the amount of cash Microsoft has on hand.
That being said, APPL still blows MSFT away as an investment over the past several years and I see no reason why this will change in the future.
APPL is a tremendous growth stock and MSFT has essentially become a utility.
MS is done. Apple is on the rise.
someone told me that repurchasing shares was actually not a good thing…. hmmm….
Apple should buy or invest in Microsoft?
No.
Apple must do no more than revel in Microsoft’s suffering.
Why waste your money and energy on a foe who is rapidly destroying himself?
Apple will leave Microsoft alone, avoiding all whiffs of anti-competitive behaviour (buying/taking over Microsoft).
Apple will keep innovating and looking to the future, while keeping an eye on Microsoft in Apple’s rear-view mirror, mostly so Apple can see and keep learning from Microsoft’s mistakes.
It’s a good time to be Steve Jobs.
Wow…
1st. Apple without Steve Jobs will soon be just as worthless as Microsoft without Gates.
2nd. Apple DOES NOT INNOVATE they take existing tech that has been tried and tested by other companies and put them in a shiny box.
3rd. What is Apples Next Big thing? Where do they go? The problem with what the success that they’ve created is that it can’t possibly continue for more than another 3 years.
4th iPod sales are down over 50% cannibalized by the iPhone, iPad sales are tremendous but what happens when the market reaches natural maturity, same goes for the iPhone…Historically apple has never been good at maintaining a mature market.
5th Microsoft has innovated: kinect, MyFord Touch, Surface, and the Metro UI…These are area’s that a rich for Microsoft’s future
@ ElderNorm
Apple leases their stores.
Certainly those in mall locations. But probably “freestanding” stores too. It would not make sense to tie up their money in owning the actual real estate, unless they were into long term real estate speculation,
(or they worried that their landlords, impressed with Apple’s success, would attempt to impose rapacious lease terms in hte future.
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buying MS is not a good move BUT how about buying MS’s Mac BU?
Here is a fact: if you keep flushing your money down the toilet like Ballmer does, you will not have as much tomorrow.
Keep flushing Ballmer, I hear Redmond is enlarging their treatment plant.
@ Peruchito
Apple itself will bury MacBU sooner or later, with Pages, Numbers and Keynotes….. and tons of good software. Is there any good stuff coming from MacBU other than the bloated Office?
Micor$oft and Apple depend on each other as the foundation of any claim that they are not monoploies. Buying M$ is not worth the bag of hurt it would bring on so many levels.
In my opinion, Apple should buy companies for the resources and facilities they provide. Otherwise they should build out their own facilities with the same money and bring manufacturing under their own roof. Really control the whole widget.
Apple should buy something worth owning and synergistic, like Adobe
@Steveeee
not for the office brand, that will stay with MS. more for its people.
Apple can have a team specializing in business/corporate software. numbers pro? pages pro? keynote pro? corporate pro apps.
just an idea.