I think that's mattmanser point. Profits look great and the stock price is happy, but mindshare in the consumer space, and perceived innovative edge (see the huge miss on phones)

Yes, definitely still a great company, but they've lost their complete dominance.

They made $16.7 billion in their last fiscal year, and 2015 and 2016 represented their lowest profits over the past 10 years.

You're using a non-recurring charge to try to make a wider point.

2015 had a $10 billion non-recurring, non-cash charge. Without that, your entire premise collapses.

The easiest way to poke a giant hole in what you're proposing, is to look at cash production from operations, which is the ultimate gauge of profitability. Their cash production the last two years is not the lowest over the past 10 years.

Net operating cash flow for 2016: $33 billion. Higher than 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012.

True. There are also much larger capital expenditures, and dividend payments.

I think Microsoft is doing tremendously well under Satya Nadella. I was making no other point except that the parent poster's comment about income were incorrect.

Low profits tend to happen in the first years of a transition to subscription. See Adobe for another example.