Microsoft Company

David Ramirez

Financial Analysis of Microsoft

Brief History

Founded in 1975, Microsoft was formed soon after the introduction of the Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) Altair, the first "personal computer," a build-it-yourself kit for hobbyists. Bill Gates and Paul Allen seized the opportunity to transform this early PC into a breakthrough -- the Altair needed software, a programming language that could make it perform useful computing tasks. They soon joined MITS as directors of software, they called there partnership micro-soft, and that's when it all began.

Historical Events

Date | Event |

1975 | Microsoft founded |

Jan. 1, 1979 | Microsoft moves from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Bellevue, Washington |

June 25, 1981 | Microsoft incorporates |

Aug. 12, 1981 | IBM introduces its personal computer with Microsoft's 16-bit operating system, MS-DOS 1.0 |

Feb. 26, 1986 | Microsoft moves to corporate campus in Redmond, Washington |

March 13, 1986 | Microsoft stock goes public |

Aug. 1, 1989 | Microsoft introduces earliest version of Office suite of productivity applications |

May 22, 1990 | Microsoft launches Windows 3.0 |

Aug. 24, 1995 | Microsoft launches Windows 95 |

Dec. 7, 1995 | Bill Gates outlines Microsoft's commitment to supporting and enhancing the Internet |

June 25, 1998 | Microsoft launches Windows 98 |

Jan. 13, 2000 | Steve Ballmer named president and chief executive officer for Microsoft |

Feb. 17, 2000 | Microsoft launches Windows 2000 |

June 22, 2000 | Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer outline Microsoft's .NET strategy for Web services |

May 31, 2001 | Microsoft launches Office XP |

Oct. 25, 2001 | Microsoft launches Windows XP |

Jan. 15, 2002 | Bill Gates outlines Microsoft's commitment to Trustworthy Computing |

Nov. 7, 2002 | Microsoft and partners launch Tablet PC |

Jan. 16, 2003 | Microsoft declares...