MS Earnings Report Hits Share Prices

It's been an interesting day on Wall Street. As Reuters reports here, Microsoft's stock lost 11% on the day. OUCH!

So let me get this right. Income is up 13%, profit is up 17%, and the firm is on the crest of a huge wave of new products (PowerShell, E12, O12 and Longhorn), and the stock goes DOWN??? What is Wall Street thinking?

Joe Wilcox at Microsoft Monitor explains the results. He notes that Microsoft faces some interesting challenges. Wilcox says: "I expect some companies will see the new user interface and file formats as generating unnecessary additional overhead, because of retraining and other cost considerations."

I've believed all along that a Classic Mode is needed for O12. I'm sure Classic Mode could still be done. And it would a super way to reduce the initial training overhead, or at least the fear of the new UI. I've been using O12 a lot of late. I hate bits of it, but I quite like others. But Wilcox is right that users, particulary power users will need retraining.