Microsoft reported its first quarterly loss as a public company on Thursday, after absorbing a multibillion write-down from a failed investment made in its online unit. But that's no reason to write the company off, says Edward Maguire, an analyst for Credit Agricole Securities.
In the face of stagnant PC sales, Microsoft did post a 4 percent rise in sales for the quarter. This, Maguire told CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” is one reason to re-assess the software giant.
“What we’re seeing in their quarter are a lot of long-term contracts from chief information officers, which are not about to go away anytime soon,” said Maguire. This argument may be a hard sell for investors who’ve seen the stock price stagnate around the $30 level. It hasn’t much exceeded that level in over a decade.
But Maguire insists that the company will restore its credibility with a series of new products.
“Windows 8 isthe big release most people know about, but we’ve got a new version of Office and a whole bunch of new cloud-based offerings,” he said. “It’s all coming together now.”
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