Android makes Microsoft 2billion a year
M icrosoft makes $2 billion a year from patents used by Android. The figure was revealed in a new investment note on Microsoft. It was written by Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund. In the note, he estimates that the $2 billion (£1.25 billion) of revenue Microsoft makes from its Android patents has a margin of 95 per cent. He says that the huge profit is hiding the fact that Microsoft’s mobile and Xbox divisions are costing the company large amounts of money. The last couple of years has seen Microsoft report its Entertainment and Devices division as profitable. Xbox, Windows Phone Mobile, Surface and its Android patents are all part of that group. However according to Sherlund, only Android has been making serious profits and has helped to hide serious problems within the division. He estimates removing the revenue from Microsoft’s Android profits would see the division making a loss of $2.5 billion – $2 billion of which is due to its Xbox division. While the figures are ...