The third quarter earnings are clearly negative. The breakup proposal isn't clearly anything. It's not clear that a breakup will happen or if it would be negative or positive for the stock even if it did happen.
We believe the downside is limited, but the stock is likely stuck in broad $6 to $12 trading range.
The company is making slow but steady progress in refocusing its products on e-business, an area where the company clearly has technology to apply but has yet to establish a strong market presence or a substantial revenue contribution.
The corporate PC market is increasingly mature, and Microsoft has a dominant share of that market, so they are running out of room to grow faster than the market.
It can be a mid-30s stock in 12 months.
