Microsoft Stock at 13 year high. Market Cap up almost $100 BILLION since January !

[TheLastStarFighter]

kowenicki said:

TheLastStarFighter said:

It would have been a very solid buy at $32.  I thought about picking it up when Balmer announced his retirement (around $35 at that time), but that would have been a poor decision compared to keeping my Nintendo stock which grew about 23% from then until I sold.  What I'm contemplating right now is just how valuable is MSFT?  Strategic moves into mobile seem to be really paying off and will only grow.  A new CEO may ditch XBox and increase dividends which could drive up the share price.  Could we see a $50 stock price?  I wouldn't be shocked.  It is certainly a safe stock, as the company isn't likely to fold or crash any time soon.

Stockholders asking for the dropping of xbox are, frankly, idiots.

It doesnt cost that much (relatively) but it is key to a move into hardware.  I think dropping it could actually harm the stock price longer term.  Xbox and the microsoft label attached help surface, help mobile and will help all of their new hardware ventures in the future.

I wouldn't call them idiots.  It's a money suck, the question is whether the lost money is worth the synergy with other products like surface and mobile as you say.  If I was offered Balmer's job tomorrow I'd probably keep it and buy up a couple key 3rd parties to increase the amount of exclusive software.  As it stands though, a better approach may be emphasing entertainment software for other devices like phones, tablets and PC's, and ditching the challenging game hardware segment.  XBox has been very good for MS's brand image among youth in the US, but there could be better ways to spend their money, especially if PS4 becomes the dominant gaming platform in the west.  XBox has been a key part of the "whole home" approach MSFT has taken, which I do like, however.