new normal

Liveblogging the Microsoft First-Quarter Earnings Call: Look, Wall Street–Jazz Hands!

Kara Swisher in News on October 23, 2009 at 7:42 am PT

Well, well, well, that financial imp at Microsoft–CFO Chris Liddell–pulled a fast one on Wall Street and turned in first-quarter earnings that blew away all estimates and even whisper numbers. BoomTown liveblogged the morning conference call, which took place at 7:30 am PT–thanks for the Kiwi-laced wake-up call, Chris! While revenue and net income in Q1 were down significantly from the same period a year ago, they were not as bad as investors expected. Which apparently passes for terrific these days!

Microsoft Execs Got Compensation Axed, as Ballmer Touts "The New Efficiency" (Which Sounds Painful!)

Kara Swisher in News on September 30, 2009 at 1:34 am PT

BoomTown happens to be in the Seattle area today, deep in the heart of Microsoft territory, which apparently is now living in a state of “new normal” according to a declaration by the software giant’s CEO, Steve Ballmer. Well, it all looks the same to me, but that’s what he said in an “executive e-mail” post yesterday titled “The New Efficiency” about the changes brought on by the econalypse. Of course, it’s also a new buzzword for the company’s upcoming Windows 7 rollout, complete with a Web site. Now, that’s efficient! Meanwhile, Microsoft revealed in a proxy filing that the direct compensation of its top execs in 2009 had been slashed.

Live From Redmond: Kiwi-Cute Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell, Plus Ray Ozzie Apperates

Kara Swisher in News on July 30, 2009 at 5:42 pm PT

As the wind-up act for the Financial Analyst Day at Microsoft today, its CFO, Chris Liddell, took the stage to try to put a shine on weak financial results that the software giant recently reported. “So, what genetic disposition do you need to be a CFO? Essentially, you need to be miserable, you need to be the sort of person who takes drinks away from people at the end of a party,” said Liddell, in his jaunty New Zealand-Hobbit accent. “So, you know, my colleagues who have been giving you drinks all day, have told me to come out here and take most of them away from you.” Which was ironic, since the all-day event for media and Wall Street analysts ended with cocktails.