U.S. Publicly Traded Company Research Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 788 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 5

Page 1 of 3

Publicly-Traded Company

Sharing a passion for computer programming, two childhood friends; Bill Gates and Paul Allen (the two founders of the computing products manufacturing company, Microsoft) changed the Application Software Industry for good with their revolutionary computer software products designed for a wide range of computing devices across the world. In this text, I develop a financial research report of Microsoft. In so doing, I will first give an overview of the company and thereafter perform a ratio analysis as well as stock price analysis of the company.

Microsoft Corporation: An Overview

With Redmond, Washington housing its headquarters, Microsoft has in the recent past diversified its operations with its numerous product divisions churning out new innovations in a wide range of areas including but not in any way limited to consumer electronics, phone operating systems as well as video game applications. Originally the company was established to undertake the development as well as sale of Altair 8800's BASIC interpreters. This was way back in the mid 70s. Today, the company has curved out a name for itself as a leading software products and services firm with operations and product divisions spread out across the globe. It can be noted that basically, Microsoft's presence in global markets has mainly been informed by the firm's tendency to expand through acquisitions.

Stuck Writing Your "U.S. Publicly Traded Company" Research Paper?

View All Our Example U.S. Publicly Traded Company Research Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

According to the company's website (www.microsoft.com), Microsoft has five divisions across the world. These are listed on the website as Online Services Division, Windows and Windows Live Division, Entertainment and Devices Division, Server & Tools Division and lastly; Microsoft Business Division.

When it comes to competition in Microsoft's marketplace, that is, the Applications Software Industry; Elleithy (2007) notes that the main drivers of demand include smart appliances, mobile devices, web services as well as other relatively new advances in the global economy. Hence effectively, the profitability of companies in this industry is largely hinged on their ability to streamline operations as well as develop superior marketing plans. Over time, the company's most persistent competitors have included Oracle Corporation, Google Inc. And Apple Inc. (Bentzel, 2006). The distribution of the company's products as well as services is mainly done through manufacturers, resellers as well as distributors of original equipment. The company also offers for sale a significant portion of its products and services online.

In the past, the company has been accused of business practices which are….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"U S Publicly Traded Company" (2011, August 21) Retrieved May 21, 2025, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/us-publicly-traded-company-44101

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"U S Publicly Traded Company" 21 August 2011. Web.21 May. 2025. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/us-publicly-traded-company-44101>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"U S Publicly Traded Company", 21 August 2011, Accessed.21 May. 2025,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/us-publicly-traded-company-44101
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example