Tough times?
A technology analyst at Goldman Sachs has predicted a tough year for Microsoft as the software giant struggles to catch up in the smartphone and tablet market.
Sarah Friars warned in a research note that Microsoft will face a ‘more challenging year' with its top-line growth predicted to fall from 12 percent to just 7 percent, Tech Flash reported.
She reportedly wrote: "A tablet response is still not forth-coming and our early read on Windows Phone 7 has not yet changed our view that Microsoft's share in mobile OSes will remain at only the single-digit level."
While the company does not seem to be in an urgent hurry to push a tablet into the rapidly growing market and challenge the likes of Apple's iPad, it has also recently admitted that it might take a couple of years for its WP7 platform to catch up with Android and iOS offerings.
"For an unlocking of shareholder value, we continue to look for a more aggressive dividend, a more focused consumer strategy, and stronger Cloud-Azure traction," she reportedly said.
"We believe the intrinsic value of shares cannot be unlocked if the status quo remains, and we have increased caution near term on a more elongated PC refresh cycle, combined with the newer threat of notebook cannibalization from tablets, where Windows does not yet have a presence," she added.
In a blow to Microsoft, Goldman Sachs has stuck with its lowered rating from ‘buy' to ‘neutral' which it adjusted in October as well as paring back its stock price outlook.
