Todd,

Enjoy your coverage and appreciate your need to keep MSFT mgt on board. But really, didn't you guys go pretty easy on the earnings report? It and the guidance tanked the stock so clearly, the market wasn't impressed. Further, where did this "we orginally thought we'd only grow @4% come from"? As I recall, MSFT never forecasted lower than about 6% growth. Regardless, it's a pretty pathetic result - the worst in their history (as, in fairness, the coverage did point out. While we're on it, what about the performance of the stock? Surely that was worth a mention if not a piece directly on that topic. In reviewing 3 yr performance, I can't find any large-cap tech stocks with a worse track record - none. Indeed, doing a search of the entire NAS for companies larger than $5B, I can only find a handful of companies with a worse track record. Again, surely this warrants coverage?

Hi Bob: Appreciate the feedback on the coverage. It's helpful to hear what people are thinking as they read a story, and you make good points. I'll try to address the things you're raising below.

Just so everyone else knows which story you're referring to, here it is: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/233603_msftearns22.html

As you mention, the story did get into the fact that it was the worst revenue growth in Microsoft's history. (It was in the first sentence.) You're right, it definitely would have been good to have mentioned that the stock was down in after-hours trading, because that foreshadowed a big drop the next day. In hindsight, I wish I had gotten that in there.

Just so you know, I did explore the broader issue of the stagnating stock in this story that ran the same day, although it was pretty far down in the story: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/233598_msftpeople22.html

I've also covered the stock issue directly in my weekly notebook in the paper at least couple times. But you're right, it would be worth revisiting.

That 4 percent comment from Chris Liddell struck me as odd, too, but in putting together the story, I went back and looked at the company's guidance at this point last year, and they were forecasting 4.2 percent revenue growth on the low end. Granted, he's doing some favorable rounding (and ignoring the 5.3 percent high end) when he makes that comment. That would have been good to mention, as well.

http://www.microsoft.com/msft/earnings/FY04/earn_rel_q4_04.mspx

At any rate, hope that helps explain things a little. Thanks again for your comments. I wasn't intending to go easy on them. (With all these things, I'm basically trying to be fair, accurate and brutally honest.) But it's good to know the impression you came away with. It might go without saying, but I'd welcome anyone to offer this kind of feedback whenever they feel like it.