Ten year MSFT losses: You could hear a pin drop...

...well at least that was the lack of reaction from my story about Microsoft's ten year $107 billion profit and its shareholders ten year 29% losses.

Thanks to Knute Berger and Crosscut for picking up the story: Microsoft stock: a bad investment?

"Doomsayers have predicted wreckage for the company for years, and we're seeing hints of mortality as Gates is gone and Redmond goes through its first major layoffs and new cutbacks. But it turns out the picture of what's going on may be even worse for investors."

Perhaps part of what's wrong with the U.S. stock market and corporatism is that a company can post $360 billion and profits over $107 billion in ten years while its shareholders lose 29% of their investment - and no one blinks an eye.

I wonder what large institutional investors (including many SRI funds) think of this. According to Google finance, MSFT is 59% owned by institutional investors.   

Comments

[Troy]

The explanation seems simple. ALL internet and internet-related companies were overvalued in 1999. Greenspan called it "irrational exuberance", and those stocks fell back to their true value during 2000 and 2001. It's a lot like what is happening with houses between 2007 and 2009.

The internet bubble caused losses all across the board, not just MSFT stock. A more-valid comparison would be during 1995 (pre-bubble) and 2005. How would an investor have made-out during that ten year span? Probably quite well.