MICROSOFT FY16 Q3 RESULTS: Rev $20.5bn. Op Income $5.3bn. Net Profit $3.8bn

[3sexty]

binary solo said:

3sexty said:

There are no traps here - nor there should be. Either you talk about what's relevant in the context of the discussion thread or don't comment at all.  This is a discussion thread about Ms last quarter earnings (for the entire Business) not a game of words for enticing reactions from other posters.   Also, you seem to be making this to be all about Xbox earnings - I'm not clear.  Are you asking me the question?? Again this is a general thread about MS earnings and most of us have known for some time that MS have ceased releasing specific numbers in regards to console sales. You may not have known this and I guess you could be forgiven in that case :) 

Well Rol did post something relevant to the topic. Your response wasn't relevant to the topic, it was merely having a snipe at Rol.

Profitability of Xbox is important for Xbox longevity. There are plenty of people inside MS who think Xbox is a silly distraction from what MS should be doing, and the only way to prove those people wrong is for Xbox to profit. And as this site is what it is the performance of Xbox is of specific interest here. So MS only talking about Xbox revenue and not talking about Xbox profitability may imply Xbox is not contributing positively to the bottom line and thus this could harden the minds of those in MS who want the company to get out of consoles. Let us pretend that Xbox has not contrinbuted profit for this quarter, and let us assume this becomes a trend and in the next 2 annual results it shows Xbox has been an annual loss maker for 2 consequitive years. How much longer before the majority of voices that call the shots say it's game over, MS has tried to be viable in the console area for over 15 years and for most of that time it hasn't worked out it's time to pull the plug? If you can argue there is a strong strategic benefit for a loss making console to stick around, then you can fight a rearguard action. But there really isn't a strong strategic benefit for being in consoles, they are no longer any kind of front line in the tech wars. 

Rol's post to wich I repsonded read as follows:

'Meh... no numbers.

Makes it very boring to read through this thread'

I am struggling to see how this is relevant to anything in Kowen's thread. I do get that he may be implying that numbers would be useful but we all know that the provision of sales specific numbers had ceased some months ago.  so in that context, I'm sorry, the post does not add value.  My post simply highlights this fact.  Your second paragraph may have some relevance to the thread but indeed it serves more purpose as a stand-alone post rather than a personal response to myself.  This appears to be an attempt to digress from what my specific response was about.  Again, Rol’s post is no more relevant than mine when you consider, even in your own words that it was a ‘Trap’.  My post simply calls it out as not being very useful at all.