Analyst Meeting MSFT (19th Sept, 2013)

Microsoft officials said during the last earnings call that the company was planning to resurrect its Financial Analyst Meeting (FAM) this year to provide more details on its reorg and reporting structure. Here are five "hot topics" that UBS wants to see addressed at FAM: 1. greater clarity on margins 2. metrics that show cloud services traction 3. details on its strategy for competing in hardware (given the $900 million Surface RT writedown and low revenues for year one of the Pro/RT) 4. evidence that Microsoft has creative plans for its cash stock pile, which is approaching $100 billion 5. information on what the company is thinking on the succession planning front (who runs Microsoft after CEO Ballmer) Analyst 2: Raymond James: 1. long term financial impact on margins, revenue and capex of the transition to cloud, Azure, Office 365 2. real numbers around Azure, Office 365, and the business plan for each 3. next steps on the consumer side, given inability of Windows 8 to stem declines in PCs and make headway in tablets and phone 4. more details on company reorg impact on financials 5. changes in capital structure given more capital investment and desire of investors for more buybacks and stronger dividend Officials said during Microsoft's July 18 earnings call that they will be discussing "our strategy, our new organizational structure, and any changes to our reporting segments, as well as more on Microsoft's year-ahead outlook during FAM this year.