Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Should the Bulls Be Running?

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has received a lot of respect and admiration over the years for its success, or flat-out dominance, of its various Windows operating systems that have serve on millions upon millions of desktop and laptop computers over the last 25 years.  But over the last five or so years, since Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) brought the smartphone to the marketplace in 2007 with the iPhone, the world has become or mobile and transitory, and Microsoft has actually gotten behind in this space t where it is not mentioned as a top mobile-device company – that distinction goes to Apple and Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), maker of the Android operating system.

However, one observer recently looked at Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) through the lens of the company’s balance sheet, and gave an assessment of the company’s new Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 operating systems, which will be due out in late October. The first thing the observer notes is what he believes is the large step forward into the mobile space without cutting the cord from the PC origins in regards to Windows 8. He considers this a huge step forward for the company as it means it recognizes that the world is becoming more mobile, but that it might be hard for many of its loyal PC user to switch to an exclusive touch-interface. The lack of alienation would be a good step for Microsoft Corporation 9NASDAQ:MSFT) going forward.

After discussing the merits of Windows 8 and its potential impact in the marketplace (Windows, by the way, makes up about 83 percent of the PC desktop and laptop OS market), the writer goes on the nuts and bolts of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) as a company, noting the company’s flushness with cash and relatively low debt as it moves ahead. The balance sheet, ultimately, seems to be where this writer in particular reveals in his disclosure that he very well could be a long player in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) stock in the near future, especially if the verdicts finally come out that Windows 8 will be a major player in the market.

When it doubt, go with the fundamentals, and they look to be strong for the foreseeable future in regards to Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which bodes well for investors with long positions, like hedge-fund manager Seth Klarman of Baupost Group.