Microsoft is apparently making $2 billion per year in revenue from Android patent royalties and using this to prop up and ailing division responsible for the Xbox and Windows Phone according to an analyst at respected Japanese bank Nomura.According to a BusinessInsider report, Analyst Rick Sherlund is saying that the Android money, "helps Microsoft hide the fact that its mobile and Xbox groups are burning serious cash."
This is a huge claim and one that we think is a misuse of words. Microsoft would of course never use revenue to 'hide' losses. And Sherlund would be aware of this, having seen the openly held accounts. That's not to say, however, that a confusion must arise given losses at Microsoft.
The analyst claims that, "Microsoft is probably losing $2.5 billion on Skype, Xbox, and Windows Phone. Of that, $2 billion in losses are attributable to the Xbox platform", and that investors do not realise this.
Sherlund's solution is harsh - and with the launch of Xbox One most probably wrong. He "believes Microsoft needs to spin out Xbox. He sees it as an orphan group at Microsoft that doesn't really fit with anything it's doing."
Via
BusinessInsider