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Comment by rwmj | Hacker News Reader

So here's a question for potential HN entrepreneurs:

If your company got as big as Microsoft or Google, would you split it up, spinning off subdivisions as separate companies?

And (in the case of MSFT/Google) why haven't they done that?

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In the case of Microsoft, no. The Office and Windows division are mutually-supporting rivers of gold. Everything else is the spaghetti cannon approach they've pursued since the 90s, with the possible exception of the Xbox.

Most of what Google does is not actually directly profitable and thus not ideal for spinoffs.

I'm not sure why people assume that Microsoft only makes money on Windows and Office. There were 11 separate businesses within Microsoft that brought in a billion dollars or more in revenue last year: http://techflash.com/seattle/2010/07/microsofts_11_billion-d...

I was talking about profit, not revenue. Here's what I'm talking about:

http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-microsoft-op...

Actually, I don't think you understand Microsoft's business model. "Server and Tools" may only generate a modest profit of only a billion dollars per quarter, but it is the foundation of all those Windows sales. The real core of the company is not the end-user stuff, it's .net, Visual Studio, IIS, and SQL Server.

If you're actually trying to arguing that MSN/Live/Bing has been an endless waste of money, then of course I'd agree.

I admit that S&T was an oversight on my part in my OP. But MSN/Bing/Live, various attempts at tablets, phones and all sorts of other doodads and geegaws have been money sinks.

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