“‘He was rendered completely speechless,’ a tweet from one of the conference’s attendees reported. ‘Incredibly intense and moving experience.’ According another Microsoft executive at the conference, there may be a reason for the drama other than gratitude: Ballmer may not be at Microsoft when next year’s event rolls around,” Lauria reports. “‘It felt like it could have been a sign of his last mgx [Microsoft Global Experience],’ wrote this insider in a text message to me. ‘A farewell?’ Indeed, this executive and several other sources close to Microsoft say that there is a growing resentment among a faction of certain executives inside the company who blame Ballmer for the years-long stagnation in Microsoft’s stock price.”
MacDailyNews Take: Oh, by the way: JP Morgan ups Apple price target to $400 – July 21, 2010
Lauria continues, “Sources say the talk around Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington, headquarters—which has grown increasingly louder ever since Apple surpassed Microsoft in market capitalization–is that the company’s stock suffers from a ‘Ballmer discount’ and that the CEO is on the clock to significantly move the needle on its share price over the next two or three quarters or face a potential move to oust him. ‘Ballmer is on the list of mega-executives under pressure,’ says a banker who has negotiated deals for Microsoft. ‘If he was asked to leave the building, I suspect there would be more happy than unhappy people.'”
MacDailyNews Take: Wait until Microsoft confirms that Apple have zipped past them in quarterly revenue, too.
Lauria continues, “There are also two powerful intangibles that will make it difficult for any group, however sizable, to remove Ballmer: Microsoft’s board supports him unwaveringly, and there’s no obvious successor that could easily slide into his post.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Leave him be. He’s doing an excellent job.*
*For Apple.