Whoa, what was that? Like an older brother weary of all the attention lavished on his younger sibling, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT ) has uncharacteristically snapped back with a "Don't forget about me!" statement.
The post, from vice president of communications Frank Shaw, is called Microsoft by the numbers and appeared on the official Microsoft blog last Friday during Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL ) astronomically successful launch of iPhone 4. While consumers were waiting for hours, salivating at the mere thought of fondling another shiny new Apple device, a Microsoft spokesman attempted to remind investors and consumers of all its past accomplishments, giving Apple the equivalent of a noogie.
For example, did you know 150 million copies of Windows 7 have been sold, making it "by far the fastest growing operating system in history"? Or that, while Apple iPad sales are projected at 7.1 million in 2010, there will be 58 million netbook sales and 355 million PC sales?
Or how about this shot at Apple, which has nothing to do with Microsoft: There were 8.8 million iPhone sales in Q1 this year, nowhere near Nokia's (NYSE: NOK ) 21.5 million sold.
Finally, this one aimed squarely at investors who've driven Apple's market cap to $234.1 billion and Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG ) to $146.1 billion, while Mr. Softy is stuck around $205.3 billion:
- Apple net income for fiscal year ended September 2009: $8.2 Billion
- Google net income for fiscal year ended December 2009: $6.5 Billion
- Microsoft net income for fiscal year ended June 2009: $14.5 Billion
By the way, the three companies' P/E ratios are 21.8, 20.8, and 12.1, respectively.
If you read through the blog post, you'll see many more comparisons (as well as a great shot at salesforce.com), although some are misleading. For example, in the iPhone vs. Nokia sales figures there's no mention of the average selling price (much higher for Apple), or the fact iPhone has zoomed from nothing to a very decent market share since its 2007 launch (16%, according to Microsoft's own numbers).
I'm a Microsoft shareholder, and I'm holding for now because I like its valuation. But let me say this, Mr. Softy: Your little brother is taller than you now, and a better athlete. He just flat-out creates more excitement than you, and I doubt if that will ever change -- so get used to it.
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