Microsoft and their free cash flow

From the March 2002 issue of Bloomberg Personal Finance:

\ufffdStock Selector Fundamentals: Go With The Flow\ufffd by Chuck Carlson

(Sorry, no link \ufffd Bloomberg\ufffds website only has selected articles, and this isn\ufffdt one of them.)

pages 33 - 35

Quote:

One of the more impressive cash flow generators on the planet is Microsoft. The company has been called a monopolist and a manipulator, but legions of investors see only one thing: market dominance, which has created one giant cash machine. At the end of third-quarter 2001, Microsoft had some $36 billion in cash assets. This firm, with its spare change, could purchase every airline in the United States and still have money left over to buy a couple of railroads (CSX and Norfolk Southern). In fiscal 2001 alone, Microsoft generated more than $12.3 billion in free cash flow. And that $12.3 billion was up considerably from the more than $10 billion in free cash flow produced in fiscal 2000. Over the last three years, Microsoft\ufffds tsunami of cash has grown at an average annual rate of 17 percent.

Makes you wonder if we really will be assimilated...

Post #28,409 by bconnors 2/14/02 6:02:48 PM Reply	Microsoft and their free cash flow From the March 2002 issue of Bloomberg Personal Finance: \ufffdStock Selector Fundamentals: Go With The Flow\ufffd by Chuck Carlson (Sorry, no link \ufffd Bloomberg\ufffds website only has selected articles, and this isn\ufffdt one of them.) pages 33 - 35 Quote: One of the more impressive cash flow generators on the planet is Microsoft. The company has been called a monopolist and a manipulator, but legions of investors see only one thing: market dominance, which has created one giant cash machine. At the end of third-quarter 2001, Microsoft had some $36 billion in cash assets. This firm, with its spare change, could purchase every airline in the United States and still have money left over to buy a couple of railroads (CSX and Norfolk Southern). In fiscal 2001 alone, Microsoft generated more than $12.3 billion in free cash flow. And that $12.3 billion was up considerably from the more than $10 billion in free cash flow produced in fiscal 2000. Over the last three years, Microsoft\ufffds tsunami of cash has grown at an average annual rate of 17 percent. Makes you wonder if we really will be assimilated... BConnors "Prepare for metamorphosis. Ready, Kafka?"
Post #28,420 by tonytib 2/14/02 8:59:00 PM Reply	No, it means they should be paying dividends only no one (politician, market analyst, institutional investor) has the guts to call them on it. Tony
Post #28,454 by wharris2 2/15/02 6:02:54 AM Reply	Oh God, No, Not Microsoft Airlines! Where each demon is slain, more hate is raised, yet hate unchecked also multiplies. - L. E. Modesitt, from his Recluse series
Post #28,474 by SpiceWare 2/15/02 9:20:43 AM Reply	the blue 'sky' of death Darrell Spice, Jr. [link\|http://home.houston.rr.com/spiceware/\|SpiceWare] - We don't do Windows, it's too much of a chore

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