ABSTRACT
Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices, and solutions. According to the company’s annual report, the products include operating systems, productivity applications between devices, server applications, business solution applications, desktop and server management tools, software development tools, and video games. They also design, manufacture, and sell devices, including PCs, tablets, game and entertainment consoles, other smart devices, and related accessories. The company increased its share of the Intelligent Cloud, which generated much higher returns on revenue, proportionately, than its Personal Computers division. It is a company that has a return on revenue that can reach 40% in some years, which is very high for a manufacturing company, as we will see in this book. Microsoft works much like Apple, with billion-dollar dividend payments to shareholders, stock repurchases, an ownership structure that puts most of its institutional shares in the hands of large investment funds. Million-dollar compensations to executives and salaries generally below the average of all salaries in the US are also addressed in this chapter, as well as analyzing other financialization indicators.
