NY Times: For Now, Microsoft Can’t Save Itself [Stock Price]

[ Thanks to George
Mitchell for this link. ]

“In a television interview Tuesday, Bill Gates declined to
say whether the company was buying shares at current bargain
prices. The fact is, it cannot.”

“Trying to mitigate the dilution to earnings that its enormous
employee stock option program represents, it has bought back 764
million shares since 1990. In the six months ending last Dec. 31,
Microsoft bought back $4.8 billion of its stock.”

“Its shares skidding, Microsoft may soon be on the hook to
investors on the other side of the bets. According to company
filings, 163 million shares are covered by put warrants that begin
to expire in June. The company would not say how many warrants
expire then, but if any expire in the money, and if Microsoft pays
in stock, earnings will be further diluted.”

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