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Microsoft announced Monday that it will report its financial results starting in its new fiscal year under a revised structure -- with five operating segments instead of the seven divisions it has used for the past few years. For investors, reporters and analysts trying to keep a close eye on the performance of the company's individual businesses, it doesn't bode well.

That's because the new structure takes some of the businesses previously broken out as separate divisions and combines their numbers with those of some other Microsoft businesses for purposes of financial reporting. That will make it tough to tell precisely how well some of the company's smaller businesses are doing. The most notable example might be the new Microsoft Business Division, which melds the results from the hugely profitable Information Worker (Office) division with the historically unprofitable Microsoft Business Solutions unit.

Here's an illustration of how this changes things: Microsoft filed pro forma financial statements Monday to show what its results would have looked like previously if it had been using the newly announced reporting structure. Below are two views of the results from Microsoft's 2006 third quarter, as they would have looked under both structures. As you can see, the Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) loss goes away, and the company goes from four unprofitable divisions to two:

Operating profit (loss) for three months ended March 31, in millions.

Mary Jo Foley and Brier Dudley also point out the downside of the change.

The company says the shift reflects its revised structure for internal management and reporting, following its reorganization into three overall divisions last year. The changes don't apply to the company's fiscal 2006 fourth quarter, the results of which it's reporting Thursday afternoon.

Microsoft's current divisions are Client, Information Worker, Server & Tools, Mobile & Embedded Devices, Microsoft Business Solutions, MSN, and Home & Entertainment. Here's a rundown of the five operating segments under the newly announced structure:

• Client: PC Windows versions.
• Server and Tools: Exchange Server moved to the new Microsoft Business Division, below.
• Online Services Group: MSN and Windows Live.
• Microsoft Business Division: Information Worker, Microsoft Business Solutions, plus Exchange Server revenue.
• Entertainment & Devices: Combines the Home & Entertainment and Mobile & Embedded Devices divisions.

Also see coverage by Reuters, CNet News.com and the Wall Street Journal.